Sins of the Fathers
by Mistress Penelopye
Summary: Book three in the Strawberry Bad Boy Universe. Delve into the lives of Grimmjow and Ichigo's children and see how they and Shinji's daughter Yayoi turned out. Yaoi and Het. Rated for content. discontinued
1. Prologue

Prologue

*WARNING. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS RAPE. IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THAT, PLEASE SKIP OVER THAT LITTLE BIT. DO NOT FLAME ME, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED AND YOU ALL KNOW HOW MUCH I LOATHE HAVING TO WARN IN THE FIRST PLACE*

* * *

Taichi stepped into the room; hands still in his pockets and shoulders slumped. He took a quick look around, noting where furniture was, where the bathroom was, where the fire escape was. One could never be too careful. He was just happy to have a bed to sleep in tonight, really. After the night he'd had before he wanted nothing more than to curl up on a nice soft bed and sleep for two days; he'd put enough of his saved money down on this place to do so. Taichi turned and waited for the other two men to enter the room, a watchful look on his face as they sauntered in behind him.

"Thanks for helping me get this room." he started and heard the lock on the door click. He sighed, unnoticed by the men. Of course this wasn't going to be easy.

"Why don't we get this out of the way so I can get some sleep, okay?" Taichi suggested and the man closest to him chuckled.

"You think we brought you all the way up here just to have you suck us off?" the man asked, smirking and shaking his head slowly.

"_I_ paid for this room, I just needed someone else to _get_ it for me. You're getting two free blow jobs so take it." It'd been a long two days and Taichi just wanted to rest in a nice comfortable bed without having to worry about his ass; literally.

The man in front shook his head and looked back at his partner before speaking. "He just doesn't get it, does he?" the man said quietly, taking a step closer to Taichi with a wide grin.

"We're getting the whole package tonight, baby."

Taichi let out a breath and started to pull his hands from his pockets. It was stupid to have them in there anyway, it left him at such a disadvantage when dealing with men like these.

"Let's not turn this into a big thing, okay? Just take what I offered and leave." Taichi smirked and shrugged one of his shoulders. "Or I call the cops and let them know you rented a hotel room for a minor in return for illegal sex acts."

The man in front snorted. "If you have time to make that call before I touch you, go for it. _Whore_."

Taichi's eyes darted to where the second man was and he realized he wasn't standing there anymore. He closed his eyes, knowing he had messed up big time, and let out a breath as something blunt and solid cracked into the back of his skull. His vision blurred and he felt his knees come into rough contact dully with the wooden flooring before he felt the second blow. His head spun, the room went black and his body slumped lifelessly to the floor. Taichi had a brief moment of lucid thought before he passed out and one thing floated up before all others; a question. _How did I end up _here.

* * *

_Four days prior_

The Princes walked into the classroom accompanied by squeals of delight from multiple girls seated throughout. They were perfect in their eyes: tall, handsome, one with long hair and a slow smile, the other thick with athletic muscles and bright, kind eyes. They were alike and yet so different and that was what appealed to the girls.

"J-Jaegerjaques-kun?" one girl asked in a dreamy voice as she approached the short haired Prince.

"Just call me Sorin. Jaegerjaques-kun is such a mouthful." Sorin said with a sigh, plopping in his chair and spreading his legs wide in front of him.

"Then go by _Kurosaki_ like I do. Jiji would die of happiness." came a cool voice and adoring eyes turned to the other Prince.

"S-Sorin," another squeal. "Can… can I sit with you at lunch today?"

Sorin blinked stupidly before giving the girl a lopsided grin. "S-sure."

"Tai-chan, your hair looks extra soft today." another girl said, looking on the verge of hyperventilating.

Taichi turned a smile to her and leaned forward a bit, resting his chin on an open palm. "Thank you, beautiful." his voice purred and a thin eyebrow arched.

More squealing assaulted the boys' ears before the sensei walked in and Sorin leaned closer to his brother. "Do you _have_ to make them do that?"

"Shut up, they do it for you too." Taichi responded in a bored tone as he crossed his legs under the desk.

"Both of you shut up." Tomoe said from behind them, smacking each of them upside the head before she took her seat in front of Sorin. "Squealing girls suck."

"Ah, Tomo-chan is so poetic in the morning." Taichi said dryly and received a withering glare from his sister which he ignored.

"Quit it or I'll cut yer hair in yer sleep." Tomoe whispered heatedly and Taichi turned swiftly in his seat, grabbing the ends of his almost shoulder length hair.

"You wouldn't." One never could tell if Tomoe was serious in her threats or not and he wasn't taking any chances. Taichi loved his hair.

"I'm on the rag. I'll do just about anything." Tomoe replied with a smirk that rivaled her elder fathers'.

"Ew, Tomo, that's gross." Sorin exclaimed, wrinkling his nose at his sisters' uncouth words.

Tomoe shrugged. "Should I have said I'm bleeding from my va…."

"Jaegerjaques-san, class has started. Please stop socializing."

One month into their senior year and life seemed so abnormally normal for them. At least on the outside. No one at the school knew that they had two gay fathers, nor that the three had never known what it was like to have a mother; though Yuzu was as motherly with them as she had time to be. She did have her own family after all. To everyone the three of them were just your normal popular students, and that was how they liked it. Mostly.

The days still slipped by too quickly for Taichi as far as he was concerned. There were never as many hours as he needed to get things done but he did his best at it. Sorin spent his days studying and attending his after school clubs. He was a member of the baseball as well as the karate and boxing clubs and a very active one at that. Somehow he still managed to keep his grades up, mostly, and have a small social life. It seemed to suit him just fine though and he never complained about it. Tomoe had her clubs as well, art and debate, though she was far more interested in shopping and boys. Most days she could be found wandering the expensive shops in Shinjuku with her best friend, Yayoi Hirako. Not that the two were left to it for long. Grimmjow had a very strict curfew for Tomoe and Nnoitra didn't like Yayoi wandering around without him there. And he absolutely refused to shop with her so she didn't get out often. Shinji and he had argued about it but in the end Shinji had given up and tried to distract Nnoitra instead so that his daughter could have some sort of social life.

Taichi didn't belong to any clubs this year as he had decided over the break that he was quitting the swim team, something he had been doing since childhood. He had his reasons, and they were many, but he didn't share them with anyone. He just wasn't interested in anything the school did anymore and only did his homework because he knew he was supposed to. He didn't like getting in trouble and figured it wasn't worth the yelling match that would ensue if he neglected his work. He managed to get most of it done at lunch and the rest on the bus ride home. But he still didn't have time for much else.

It was the end of the day and Sorin, Tomoe and Taichi were walking down the hall together, chatting about what they thought Chichi was going to make for dinner that night when someone beckoned to Taichi. Taichi stopped and sighed before turning to his siblings and grinning.

"See ya guys." he said before trotting off.

Tomoe huffed and shifted closer to Sorin. "You think he's gay and those two are seeing each other?" she asked as she watched the young man laugh at something Taichi said as the two rounded a corner. Sorin snorted.

"Like I care."

"Geez, what a great brother you are." Tomoe snapped and Sorin rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Talk to me when yer hormones stop making you a bitch."

Tomoe hit Sorin in the back with her book bag and turned to walk towards her club. "Fuck you Sorin!" she threw over her shoulder, raising one arm high in the air and displaying a rather unladylike gesture.

Sorin rolled his shoulders and shook his head, glad that at least she hadn't kicked him - Tomoe kicked really hard - before setting off to his own club.

* * *

Family time in the Kurosaki-Jaegerjaques household consisted of everyone crowding around the dinner table and trying to talk over each other. Taichi wasn't sure how Tomoe and Sorin actually ingested their food because they talked the entire time and he never actually saw them put anything in their mouths. At that moment Tomoe was trying to get something heard and Sorin repeatedly interrupted her. She was getting upset - understandably in Taichi's mind - and finally snapped, poking Sorin in the side of the head with her chopsticks.

"Shut the hell up, jerk. I'm tryin' ta talk!" Tomoe bellowed in her best and most unladylike tone. Taichi smirked and tried to hide it by looking down.

"Tomo, will you please keep your utensils to yourself." Ichigo muttered with a long effected sigh.

Tomoe rolled her eyes. "Then listen to me." She said in a petulant tone as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Nobody wants to hear what you have to say." Sorin grumbled and winced when Tomoe must have kicked him under the table. Sorin looked pleadingly at Grimmjow.

"She kicked me!"

"Quit talkin' to her like that then." Grimmjow said before filling his mouth with food so he didn't have to say anything else.

Sorin growled and let his shoulders slump a bit. "Such bullshit."

"That mouth of yers in bullshit. Quit cussing." Grimmjow groused after he swallowed.

Taichi briefly met Ichigo's eyes and he wasn't able to hide his smirk anymore. Ichigo shook his head and smiled.

"What is it Tomo?"

Tomoe grinned and straightened her back. "One of my pieces is going to be featured in an art show next month."

"Which one?" Taichi asked, speaking at the table for the first time that night.

Tomoe beamed at him. "The Isis statue out of the red clay."

Grimmjow frowned. "Which one was that?"

Tomoe's good cheer evaporated and Taichi sighed.

"Daddy you never pay attention!" Tomoe accused. "I was working on it for like… two weeks!"

"Tomo, there is no reason to raise your voice." Ichigo interjected and smiled at his daughter. "And congratulations, that one was very nicely done."

Crisis averted, Sorin went back to talking about himself and the night ended as it always did: Taichi and Tomoe clearing the table as Ichigo wandered off to make phone calls for his second job and Sorin and Grimmjow wandered off talking about sports and scholarships and how proud Grimmjow was of his son. Tomoe placed the dishes in the dishwasher after Taichi rinsed them and muttered quietly to him about how upset she was about something that had occurred during her art club that day. It was something she knew she'd only be able to tell Taichi because Taichi didn't and wouldn't rat people out. Ever. It wasn't in his nature unless it was something that could get someone seriously hurt or it was extremely illegal.

"You know that one guy that's had his eye on Yo for like… ever?" Tomoe started and Taichi nodded before handing over a dish.

Tomoe took it as she looked over her shoulder to make sure they were completely alone.

"Anyway, he was totally hittin' on me taday. Like, 'I'd love to take you to the movies and get a little closer to you.' kinda of hittin' on me. Made me sick and now I'm gonna hafta tell Yo and she's gonna cry."

Taichi smiled. "Yo-chan's stronger than that. I'm sure she'll be upset, but not enough to cry about it."

Tomoe shrugged. "Sure she ain't in love with that dude like she is Sorin but…."

Taichi stopped and turned to his sister. "You know about that too?"

Tomoe rolled her eyes. "I'm her best fuckin' friend Tai. Of course I know she's in love with that asshole."

Taichi smirked and went back to rinsing dishes. After everything was put away and Tomoe had wandered off to call Yayoi, Taichi retreated to the sanctity of his bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. Once he felt safe enough he sagged his shoulders and walked to his window, pulling it open and looking out into the back yard.

"Dai?"

A head popped up out of the bushes near the back of the yard and a small body darted forward before flying through the window. Taichi had to jump back out of the way and looked fretfully at the door to make sure no one had heard anything.

"Idiot, we're gonna get caught." Taichi hissed and large dark eyes looked up at him.

"Sorry." a small voice said before a wide smile transformed a slightly dirty face. "That was a pretty sweet jump though."

"It was but if we get caught _I'm _dead, not you." Taichi sighed. "Not that dad would care what _I_ do."

Daisuke Yoshida, a short boy Taichi's age with half a head of curly brown hair that he occasionally fashioned into a neat Mohawk, had been friends with Taichi since he was two years old and had, up until two weeks prior, lived directly next door. That had been until his parents had finally gotten sick of his constant disobeying and had kicked him out. Taichi had been letting Daisuke sleep in his room at night, stealing food from the kitchen so the poor kid could eat before bed ever since.

"So what's for dinner?" Daisuke asked and Taichi rolled his eyes.

"Nothing until everyone goes to bed, you know that."

Taichi reached for his bedroom TV remote and readied himself for another long night of listening to Daisuke talk about his suddenly absent boyfriend. After Daisuke had been kicked out of his house he had immediately called the man – seventeen years his senior – but had been told quite bluntly that he wouldn't be allowed to stay with him. And then the man had gone on a business trip and Daisuke hadn't been able to get ahold of him since. Taichi tried to convince Daisuke that the man wasn't coming back and if he did he was done with him, but Daisuke had just smiled and flipped his hair a bit before saying, "He isn't like that one guy, Tai. He's different. He loves me."

Daisuke stood from his spot on the floor and opened Taichi's closet, pulling out his duffle bag and digging for clean clothes to wear in the morning. He hoped he'd be able to get a shower before he had to leave in the morning, but knew that if he didn't he'd just hit a bath house after school. There was a knock at Taichi's door and both boys stilled before Daisuke pulled the doors of Taichi's closet closed as quietly as he could, hiding inside. Taichi stood and crossed the room, opening the door to see the face of his elder, and currently frowning, father.

"I told you not to lock the door." Grimmjow grumbled and Taichi sighed.

"Then take the lock off." he snipped.

Taichi's long arms crossed in front of him and he cocked a hip as he looked directly into his father's eyes.

"Can I help you?"

"Knock off the attitude and get out in the living room. Yer father wants us all in there for a movie or something."

Taichi rolled his eyes. "I'm tired." he said and Grimmjow grunted.

"It wasn't a request."

"Fine, I'll be out in a minute." Taichi said before shutting the door in Grimmjow's face.

It didn't stay closed long before flying open and crashing into the wall. Taichi's eyes opened wide as he stared at his father in disbelief.

"Keep this damn door open or I'll take the fucker off. Got it?"

"Fine. Take it off. I have nothing to hide." Taichi said, immediately regretting his words. Of course he had things to hide and he could almost see the look on Daisuke's face as he stood in the closet.

"Would you two stop fighting and get out here please?" Ichigo said from behind Grimmjow, startling both Grimmjow and Taichi so much they both jumped.

"Tai, please stop locking the door and Grimm, calm the hell down. He's just a kid."

"I'm not a kid." Taichi said, but his arms dropped to his sides anyway. "And can I change my clothes first, please?"

Ichigo nodded and grabbed Grimmjow's arm, pulling the man down the hallway and whispering heatedly the entire time. Taichi shut the door and leaned his forehead against it, not for the first time wondering what had gone wrong between him and his father. It'd been years since the two had been able to stand each other's company and if Taichi were being honest with himself he would have admitted that it hurt. Badly.

The closet door opened carefully and Daisuke peaked out, black eyes wide and mouth pulled in a straight line.

"Nothing to hide?" he whispered and Taichi smiled apologetically.

"Sorry. You know how I get with him though. I'll try and be more careful until you find a place, okay?"

Taichi pulled his shirt over his head and walked to his dresser to retrieve his night clothes. Daisuke giggled and pulled his own shirt over his head before turning around to grab another from his bag.

"Oh Tai. The temptation of your glorious body is too much. I can't look."

Taichi snorted but didn't say anything.

"I just might take advantage of you in your sleep tonight."

Taichi chuckled. "In your dreams. This 'glorious body' is _so_ not for you."

"Aww, sadface. I'm too cute for the sadface and yet you always make me show it."

"Shut up and stay quiet until I get back, okay? I'll bring food."

"Yeah, yeah. I have homework anyway." Daisuke said as he slipped out of the closet, fully dressed and holding a geometry book.

Taichi pulled his pajama pants up over his hips and smirked, padding to the door and grabbing the handle.

"I'll be back later." he said before leaving Daisuke alone to go spend time with his family.

* * *

The movie was horrendous, even Ichigo was disgusted with it, and halfway through the family unanimously decided that it wasn't worth staying up for. However, instead of running off the bed, Sorin stood up and told everyone none too quietly to shut up and listen.

"So, you'll never guess what happened." Sorin started and Tomoe groaned.

"No one cares." she said at length and received a glare from her slightly younger brother.

"Shut up, Tomoe." Sorin scowled and Tomoe rolled her eyes.

"You shut up."

"Both of you shut up." Ichigo said, earning himself four sets of eyes turned in his direction that were full of surprise. "What?" he asked incredulously.

"Anyway," Sorin tried again. "You'll never guess who got scouted today."

Tomoe sneered. "For what?"

"God, Tomo. Do you have to ruin everything?" Sorin whined and Taichi sighed.

"Congrats Sorin. I'm going to bed." he said as he stood but stopped halfway when Grimmjow cleared his throat and spoke.

"You probably would have gotten scouted to if you hadn't quit swimming."

Ah, such a sore point between father and son.

"Swimming is for children, _dad_. We all have to grow up sometime." Taichi said before standing up the rest of the way.

"Bullshit!" Grimmjow stood as well, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sports are not for _children_. It takes talent and dedication…."

"Please spare me the rhetoric. I'm going to bed."

"You're just a quitter."

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo stood and stepped between Taichi and Grimmjow, looking into blue eyes as he addressed the man he had chosen to spend the rest of his life with.

"You'd know all about quitting, wouldn't you _dad_?" Taichi snapped, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I'm going to bed." he said again, turning and trying once more to leave.

"If you were dedicated like your brother, this wouldn't be happening right now. Sorin takes what he does very seriously and what do you do?"

Taichi felt his hands form fists and he willed himself not to get upset. He didn't like getting upset but scenes from the past four years kept flashing before his eyes and he couldn't help himself. He took another deep breath and tried to shove the feelings down; ignore them. It wasn't worth getting so angry over. Not anymore. Taichi turned to look at both his fathers and opened his mouth to again say that he was going to bed only to be interrupted by Grimmjow.

"Sorin is well on his way to becoming a man and what the hell are you doing? _Cooking_?"

Taichi snapped, brown eyes went black with anger and his lip pulled up in a sneer he was sure he had never shown to anyone in his life.

"I'm so _sorry_ that I don't live up to your expectations, _dad_. We can't _all_ be like _Sorin _and _you._"

He left the room then, stomping down the hallway to his room and slamming the door with all his might, locking it and shoving his dresser in front of it for good measure. Daisuke looked up at him from his bed with wide eyes and a half open mouth. Taichi ran his hand back through his hair before he started tearing off his clothing in a rush.

"Yo… uh, Tai? You okay?"

"We're leaving. I can't stay in the same house as that man anymore."

"Wait, just because of _that_?" Daisuke had of course heard everything from the living room but he was surprised that a fight so small was making Taichi act like this. His own family fights had been far louder and much more violent before he had been kicked out.

Taichi looked up at Daisuke as he shoved clothes into a bag. "You know it's more than that. He doesn't want me here anyway. He'd have been happy with just twins so me leaving won't be an impact."

Daisuke stood up and frowned. "But Tai…."

"Fine stay here. _ I'm_ leaving."

Daisuke sighed. "Fuck. Fine, let me get dressed. I can't exactly let you leave by yourself."

* * *

"Grimmjow what the hell is wrong with you?" Ichigo shouted as Tomoe and Sorin edged their way out of the living room.

"What?"

Ichigo slapped Grimmjow's shoulder. "Why do you have to be so hard on him? He's a good student. He helps out at home. He's never _once_ gotten in trouble at school unlike Sorin and Tomoe. And he is _damn_ good at cooking and baking. There's nothing wrong with a man who does that."

"So what?"

"You know what? Sleep on the fucking couch, asshole." Ichigo threw his hands up in the air before walking out of the room.

"What, why?" Grimmjow said, but his bedroom door was already shut and he found himself alone in the living room.

With a huffed sigh Grimmjow grumbled as he sat back down on the couch and ran a hand back through his hair.

"I'm too fucking old to sleep on the couch." he muttered, eyeing the clock and seeing that it was late enough that he should have already been in bed anyway.

Grabbing one of the throw pillows on the couch next to him and a blanket from the chair, Grimmjow stripped down to his boxers and turned off the lights. He didn't hear Taichi's window open again, didn't hear the two boys jump out of it and didn't hear them leave the yard as quietly as they could. Within minutes Taichi and Daisuke were gone and Grimmjow was asleep.

* * *

_Present Day_

Taichi woke, confused and disoriented, head throbbing and body jerking with the frantic thrusting the man behind him was doing. Taichi closed his eyes tight a moment, the pain radiating through his body making it hard for him to register what was still happening to him. He groaned and tried to move his head only to find that the other man was holding his upper body against the hard mattress; one hand on Taichi's head and the other between his shoulder blades. All he could hear at the moment was harsh panting, the slapping sound on skin on skin, and the deep and loud breathing the man holding him to the bed was making. Taichi wasn't even sure they knew he was awake yet and he opened his eyes again to slits, seeing only a thick, hairy arm and the wall across the way. A meaty hand was close to his face and Taichi's mind began to race. He needed to get out of there, he needed to find a distraction but his brain was so fuzzy and his body hurt so bad.

"Aw man. He's tight for a whore." the man behind Taichi spoke, breaking a bit of the spell the younger man was under. Taichi blinked and watched his vision clear a bit.

"Shit, I loosened him up for you." the other spoke and Taichi blinked rapidly. He had to get out of there.

The man behind Taichi thrust hard, making Taichi's body scoot forward a bit and he suddenly thought of a way to at least get the man holding him down to let go. When the hand that was in front of him was suddenly within reach Taichi opened his mouth and clamped his teeth on the top of it, biting down as hard as he could.

"Fuck!" the man screamed, yanking both hands away and giving Taichi the opportunity to move once again.

The man behind Taichi stopped and Taichi pushed up on his arms as quickly as he could, vertigo making it quite a bit more of a task that he had anticipated. His head spun and he felt like he was going to be sick but he couldn't stop there. He had to get away.

"What the-"

Taichi took a deep breath and sat up the rest of the way, cocking his arm and ramming his elbow into the face of the man that had been fucking him. He heard a snap, a sharp cry of outrage and felt a stiff member pull abruptly out of him. He wanted to sag to the bed, but he was far from out of danger. The man he had bitten was recovering from his shock and he glared at Taichi, lips pulling into a cruel sneer.

"You little shit." the man said and Taichi barely had time to dodge the fist that was aimed for his face.

He rolled off the bed and hit the floor with a thud, continuing the roll before scrambling to his feet. The world spun and Taichi's eyes closed briefly, giving the man he had bitten an opening. Taichi wasn't expecting the fist that caught him in the cheek, but he managed to catch himself before he fell to the floor again. With his pants around his ankles though he wasn't going anywhere and by the look on the man's face he knew it was well.

"He fucgin' broge by dose!" the other man screamed again and the second man turned to look back at him.

Taichi bent quickly, yanking up his opened jeans and righting himself as quickly as he could. His world tilted again and he shook his head in an attempt to right it. Out of nowhere he was kicked hard in the side, his legs almost gave and he grunted and cried out a little at the spark of pain that flared up. His nerve endings were on fire and he suddenly realized he was on the wrong side of the room for escape. The man whose nose he had broken moved closer, slowly and carefully as if dealing with a wild animal.

"I'mb gonna ged you for dat you sdupid whore."

Taichi snorted, trying to buy himself time enough to skirt around the men and get to the fire escape.

"Really?" he spoke for the first time, the word sounding strange to his ears. He moved and two pairs of eyes watched him intently.

"And what will you do then? You've already raped me." he was stalling but the men seemed stupid enough to fall for it.

"Beat the shit outta you for one." the man with the bitten hand sneered and Taichi moved on shaky legs closer to the window.

"Hmm… that doesn't sound much like it'll make up for breaking his nose." Taichi said, nodding his head in the direction of the other man.

"Then how 'bout we toss you're broken body in Tokyo bay after and watch you drown?"

Taichi swallowed hard and tried to take a steady breath. The look on the man's face told Taichi that he was absolutely serious.

"People know where I am." he said, lying through his teeth. Not one damn person out there knew where Taichi was and he had gone out of his way to ensure that. "All they have to do is check the registry and see you two paid for the room."

The window was so close now that Taichi could feel a slight breeze coming through the small gap of an opening.

"Tch…." the bitten man said and shook his head. "No one cares about a little whore like you."

Taichi nodded and finally stood in front of the window that led to the fire escape.

"Mmm, you may be right about that." he said as he balled his fist. "But you'll have to catch me if you want to kill me."

That said Taichi rammed his fist through the window and pushed himself through the broken glass as quickly as he could. He felt the glass scrape at his skin, his head spun once again as he moved too quickly and he heard the men in the room shout with anger. Taichi stumbled into the railing and looked down, wind whipping his long blue hair as he realized he was three floors up with nothing but concrete to great him if he fell. It wouldn't kill him, but there was no way he'd make the jump without breaking something and he didn't have time to use the ladder. The window he had broken and jumped through was being shoved open and they'd have him again in no time. He had no choice. Taking a deep breath, Taichi threw one leg over the rail and tried not to look at the ground. The iron dug into his palms and he took one last look at the two men struggling to get through the window before he swung his other leg over and dropped as easily as he could to the ground.

"Damn it!" one of the men yelled and Taichi hit the ground, his ankle snapping almost immediately.

He didn't realize that the sound of half screamed pain was coming from him, but he did his best to pull himself up and hobble out of the alley he found himself in. He couldn't be sure how long it was going to take, but he knew the two men were not going to leave him alone just yet. Adrenaline fighting back the pain, Taichi reached the street and almost cried out for joy when an off duty cab lay as if in wait for him. The window was open and he called out, grabbing the man behind the wheel's attention.

"Please. I'll give you ten-thousand yen. Just get me outta here." Taichi reached back for his wallet, thanking God that it was still in his pants, and shoved it at the driver. "Please."

The man behind the wheel frowned and looked behind Taichi, seeing two men moving quickly out of the alley and towards them. He sighed and unlocked the door.

"Get in then." he said and Taichi thankfully opened the back door, slipping inside and slamming it shut behind him.

The cabbie pulled away from the curb just as the men exited the alley, shouting obscenities after the car. The cabbie looked in his rearview mirror at his young and bleeding passenger before asking which hospital he wanted to go to. Taichi groaned and shook his head.

"No… no hospital." he said, his body beginning to shake as the adrenaline wore off.

"Look kid, you seem to…."

"No hospital." Taichi insisted and rattled off an address for the man.

The cabbie sighed and nodded before hopping on the expressway to take his fare to his destination. Taichi dug out his money and dropped it in the front passenger seat before shifting and making a valiant effort not to cry. Everything, since the moment he had left home, had gone wrong for him. He was tired, hungry and in more pain that he had ever been in his entire life and the only thing he could think of in that moment was that everything was his fault. He let his head fall against the window as he watched the city pass by and wondered if he should have just stayed in that room and let those men finish up what they had been doing to him. He'd probably be showering at that moment and getting ready to slip between slightly dirtied sheets instead of bleeding and broken in the backseat of city cab. Taichi closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, wishing that the car would go faster.

* * *

Yayoi looked at her clock and frowned, seeing the digital display glaring at her that it was only three in the morning. She sighed and rolled over on her back, running a hand back through her newly cut hair and sighing. She hadn't really wanted to cut it, but she and her father both had donated the shorn hair to make wigs for cancer patients so it made her feel slightly better about the situation. She heard again the noise that had startled her awake and realized it was a knock coming from the front door. Sighing and pushing out of bed without thinking, Yayoi rose to answer it. Nnoi-chan was home, at least she thought he was, and she was sure if it were some kind of attacker he'd be there in a moment to rescue her. Either that or her father would be ready to fight to the death anyone that dare lay a hand on his precious Yo-chan. Yayoi padded to the living room, yawning widely and rolling her eyes a little when whoever it was knocked yet again.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming, geez." she grumbled and reached for the knob. Nnoitra would have killed her for it but Yayoi threw back the locks and turned the handle, opening the door without checking first who it was.

Her eyes widened at greeted her. Taichi was leaning heavily again the outside doorframe, covered in blood and bruises, his clothing torn in several places and his face starting to swell. Taichi looked into Yayoi's light blue eyes and he felt his chin tremble a bit as he tried to stem the flow of emotions that wanted to flood through him.

"Tai!" Yayoi gasped and the young blue haired male nodded before taking a careful step forward.

He faltered and nearly tripped; putting too much weight on his broken limb and finally the damn broke. Taichi closed his eyes and reached blindly for Yayoi, managing to wrap his arms around her waist and bury his face in her ample bosom as his knees hit the floor. Yayoi cried out softly as he was taken with him, and she reached up, touching Taichi's head only to pull back and stare in horror at the blood covered her hand.

"Oto-chan!"

Heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway and Yayoi clutched Taichi to her as she began to rock him. His shoulders shook with silent sobs and tears pricked her own eyes before falling down her cheeks on into his dirty blue hair.

"What the hell is with all the… Oh my God." Shinji stopped and sucked in a breath at the scene that met his eyes.

Yayoi looked up at him and shook her head. "Oto-chan." she said again before her face crumpled and she lowered her head to cry over Taichi.

All Taichi could do in that moment was shake and cry before everything once again went black and the world that had been filled with pain, anger and shame drifted away like a bad dream.

* * *

A/N Well, way ta start a story Penny. Make yerself get all teary because yet again you can't help but be mean to the men you love. As you can see I sort of just dove in here with this, and yer probably wondering what happened between father and son and all that. Well all shall be revealed as the story progresses, so please, be patient with me :D Anyway, I hope this first chapter and look into the lives of the triplets and Yayoi piqued yer interest so that you all want to read more.

:D

~Penny


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Ichigo jerked awake when his cellphone rang, dropping a folder that had been resting in his lap and cursing when papers spread across the floor. He reached for his phone and answered groggily as he rubbed his free hand over his face. He hadn't remembered falling asleep and now felt worse than he had beforehand.

"Ichi, Tai's here." Shinji's voice cut through the fog of sleep like a hot knife through soft butter and Ichigo sat up straighter on the couch.

"What? When?"

"Maybe ten minutes ago. Look, Ichi he's not… he's not okay. I'm taking him to the hospital right now."

Ichigo felt his heart drop to his stomach and his breath froze in his lungs. "What?" he breathed and he heard Shinji sigh.

"He looks like he got beat up pretty good. He's bleeding from all over. Fuck Ichi. He's passed out in my daughters' arms right now. I just…."

"I'll meet you there, okay. Just hurry and get him there."

Shinji nodded into the phone and sniffled. "I'm sorry… I…. I'll see you there."

Ichigo almost dropped his phone as he hung up and jumped when he heard a sound from behind him. Looking over the back of the couch he saw both Tomoe and Sorin standing in the hallway, looking at him expectantly.

"Well?" Tomoe asked with a tired yawn and Ichigo sighed.

"He's at your uncle's. I'm on my way to pick him up." Ichigo half lied as he stood and stretched.

"Why'd he go there?" Sorin asked quietly and Ichigo shrugged. He'd wondered that himself.

"That stupid idiot. Is he hurt?" Tomoe yawned again and her eyes narrowed at the sudden tight look on her father's face.

"A little. I'll know more when I see him. You guys st-"

"No way I'm comin' with you." Tomoe practically shouted before running off down the hall to her room to change as quickly as she could.

"Yeah me too." Sorin added, retreating to his room as well to change.

Not in the mood to argue, Ichigo set the retrieved folder on the coffee table and went in search for his keys. It surprisingly didn't take long for the three of them to get out to the car and Ichigo tried calling Grimmjow one more time before he slid into the driver's seat. He didn't know why the man wasn't answering, he was supposed to be out looking for Taichi at the moment, and hoped he hadn't fallen asleep on the side of the road somewhere. Setting the phone in the center console, Ichigo started the car and headed towards the hospital he knew Shinji would be taking Taichi to. Every time he was stopped at a stoplight he sent a quick text to Grimmjow but he had yet to be answered. Tomoe watched this from her peripheral and rolled her eyes, snatching Ichigo's phone from his hands and grumbling a quick, "I'll get his attention." before typing something out.

At the next light they were stopped at Ichigo checked to see what had been written -"I want a divorce"- and frowned at his daughter. Tomoe shrugged and leaned her head against the window. She wasn't awake even to attempt being nice and Sorin had fallen back to sleep in the back seat. By the time they entered the underground parking garage Ichigo's phone was finally ringing. It was Grimmjow. Tomoe snatched up Ichigo's phone and answered it before he could, making him sigh and look harder for a parking spot.

"What the hell? You fall asleep of something?"

"Give the phone… wait. Don't send me fucked up messages on yer Chichi's phone." Grimmjow sounded exhausted and more than irritable and Tomoe grinned mischiviously.

"But I wasn't playin' with the phone. Maybe you pissed Chichi off and he don't like you anymore."

She heard Grimmjow sigh heavily before he spoke. "Give. The _goddamned phone_. To your father. _Now_."

"Geez, what crawled up your butt?" Tomoe grumbled and quickly handed the phone to Ichigo before Grimmjow could yell at her for what she had said.

Ichigo talked as he slid into a parking spot and got out of the car, the three of them half jogging to the emergency entrance. Ichigo walked directly to the reception desk and Tomoe and Sorin spotted Yayoi leaning up against a wall by the waiting room. Tomoe opened her mouth to call out to her when she noticed what the girl was wearing. A thin white cotton night dress spotted heavily with blood stains and a pair of snake skin cowboy boots. Ignoring her best friends' horrible taste in shoes, Tomoe focused on the blood and spoke too loud for where she was.

"Holy crap, what happened to him?"

Yayoi's arms were wrapped tightly around her waist and she shrugged, not bothering to look up at the two that had approached her. "Don't know yet."

Sorin watched her closely, quietly taking in her slumped shoulders and closed body language. Tomoe cocked a hip and looked down the hallway.

"What room's he in?" she asked and Yayoi sighed.

"Tomo, please…." she started but Tomoe was already taking off to find out for herself.

Yayoi sighed again and leaned back against the wall again. Sorin cleared his throat and shifted his weight awkwardly.

"You cold?" he asked quietly, eyes suddenly fixated on Yayoi's boots.

Yayoi looked up at him, her titled pale blue eyes quickly assessing his face before flicking away, and shook her head. "No, not really. I just… didn't get a chance to grab a change of clothes when we were rushing out so…." she looked down at herself and sighed at the drying blood on her clothes.

Sorin scowled and shifted on his feet. "You need to get out of those clothes, you know?" he said, clearing his throat and looking away quickly when he realized what he had said.

Yayoi blushed and tried to stop her lips from turning up at the edges. She sighed. "Nnoi-chan is picking me something up on his way here." she said quietly.

"Oh." Sorin reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck, wondering if there would ever be a time he could just talk _normally_ with Yayoi.

"So… how bad is he?"

Yayoi shrugged again. "Something was wrong with his leg. He couldn't stand on it when we took him out to the car. He's all bloody and bruised up. He looks horrible."

"I'm…." Sorin started, not really sure what to say in that moment. _I'm sorry_ didn't seem to fit here.

Instead he crossed his arms over his chest as well and leaned up against the wall near but not too close to where Yayoi was. Tomoe pushed open a random curtain as she looked for her brother, not bothering to apologize when she had walked into five occupied rooms that didn't contain anyone who even remotely looked like him. Finally she pulled back a horrible flower patterned curtain to see Taichi sitting on a gurney with one arm out as a nurse stitched up a rather nasty looking gash on his arm. Taichi was looking away, eyes shut tightly and face contorted in discomfort. With one leg resting on a thin pillow and the other dangling off the side of the hospital bed Taichi looked like he was comfortable save for the obvious pain showing on his face. Tomoe scowled and sucked in a breath before she lifted her hand and struck Taichi as hard as she could in the face. Taichi, having not yet noticed that his sister was even in front of him, jerked and the woman with the needle at his arm gasped, arms pulling back so she didn't end up hurting Taichi more than he already was.

"You asshole! Where the hell have you been?" Tomoe yelled at Taichi.

"Tomo!" Ichigo said from behind Tomoe and puled her back out in the hall with an arm around her waist.

"What the hell is wrong with you? He's getting stitches. He's already hurt enough." he snapped and Tomoe glared at him.

"No way, he needs to be punished for taking off without telling me anything!" she said indignantly.

"Just go wait in the waiting room with everyone else, please."

Tomoe would have pushed her point but the look in Ichigo's eyes told her that it wouldn't be worth the effort if she did. So instead of the fit she wanted to throw she turned on her heel and stomped back to the waiting room. Ichigo sighed as he watched her go before reentering the small curtained off room. His eyes immediately went back to his oldest son and he frowned. He hadn't noticed how thin Taichi had gotten lately. His ribs were starting to show and earlier when he had been sitting up Ichigo had noticed his shoulder blades were sharp as razorblades. He also hadn't seen the nipple piercings yet nor had he been aware of the two little piercings winking at each of Taichi's hip bones. He wasn't even sure how those were even possible. Grimmjow was going to be pissed when he saw those.

"There, all patched up." the nurse said with a smile as she reached for gauze to cover the wound.

"How many did it end up being?" Ichigo asked and the nurse smiled up at him.

"Only eight. I'm guessing you know how to keep them clean, Dr. Kurosaki." the nurse chuckled and Ichigo smiled tightly at her.

Once Taichi's arm was wrapped the nurse stood to dispose of the used needles and refuse, careful not to let either father or son know that she was watching them as closely as she could. It was almost hard to walk around the bed the tension between the two was so thick.

"They'll be coming to get him for x-rays on that ankle in a little bit and I think they also want one of his head and chest. He said he was hit twice with a blunt object. Just sit tight."

As soon as the woman was gone Taichi opened his eyes and looked up at his father for the first time since he'd run away from home. He saw Ichigo's jaw clench and he quickly looked away.

"Sorry." he mumbled and Ichigo shook his head.

"Right now the fact that you aren't dead is making me forget you ran off in the first place so just don't start with the half assed apologies." Ichigo sighed and walked to the chair the nurse had been sitting in, dropping down and running a hand over his face.

"Where did you go?" Ichigo knew it would be easier to get information out of Taichi if Grimmjow weren't around and while he hated having to be a middle man of sorts, right now that wasn't important.

"We, Daisuke and I, walked around the first night and stayed with a couple friends the second night." Taichi's voice was soft and quiet, making Ichigo turn towards him so that he could hear everything that was said.

"And last night?"

Taichi closed his eyes as he remembered everything that had led up to the reason why he was sitting in that hospital bed and sighed deeply. Earlier that day Daisuke had gotten a call from an unrecognized number on his cellphone and had started giggling like a moron the moment he answered it. Apparently Taichi had been wrong about Daisuke's boyfriend after all and the man was calling to suddenly beg Daisuke to move in with him. Taichi still didn't have all the details but after more days than he could count of high stress and little food or sleep, Taichi had snapped at Daisuke.

"So you're ditching me." Taichi had said and Daisuke had rolled his eyes.

"I'm not _ditching_ you, Tai."

"Whatever. Have fun with your man, I'm sure I'll find _somewhere_ to sleep tonight." Taichi turned and started to walk away, ignoring the frustrated sounds coming from his best friend.

"Gawd why can't you just be happy for me? I know things are fucked up right now but… I mean, c'mon."

Taichi had continued to walk away and showed no response when Daisuke had called out that he would call Taichi in the morning. Two hours later when Taichi had just shown up in Nichome he'd run into a couple of old friends. They'd been in a hurry for work so he hadn't bothered asking him if they had a place for him that night. Besides, he had just stayed with them the night before and he didn't want to overstay his welcome. It was getting dark at this point though and he knew that if he didn't work fast he'd be sleeping in an alley that night. The first hotel that he'd walked into had denied him outright, stating that they didn't rent to minors and neither did anyone else in the area. Tired, hungry and more than a little irritated, Taichi had used the restroom at a sushi restaurant to fix himself up a little before heading out to find someone to talk into renting a room for him. It was a Sunday night but the sidewalks were still packed with people and Taichi was confident that he'd be able to accomplish what was needed in no time. It didn't surprise him when he was almost immediately approached, but he frowned at the fact that it was two men.

"Hey there, cutie. You here with someone already?" one of the men snickered and Taichi cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Actually, I'm not."

The second man, this one far more good looking than the other, took a step closer to Taichi and looked him up and down salaciously. "Then how about you accompany us somewhere."

Taichi smirked and shook his head. "You couldn't afford someone like me for a romp. But I'm running a special for tonight and tonight only." he licked his lips and watched the man closest to him follow his tongue with his eyes.

"Oh yeah?"

Taichi nodded. "Yeah. You get me into that hotel for a two nights stay and I'll give you both the best blow jobs you've ever had."

The rest, as they say, was history but Taichi really didn't want to tell his father everything. It wasn't necessary for Ichigo to know that much, and Taichi especially wasn't going to mention the sexual parts of the night. It was best if no one knew about that part, Taichi thought. Taichi decided a far more condensed version would have to suffice and opened his mouth to continue.

"Dai went to his boyfriends' house and my friends, my other friends, were all busy with stuff so… I got some help getting a hotel." Taichi took another deep breath and felt his head spin a little from the drugs they had given him for the pain.

"They… the guys that helped me get the room jumped me and I ended up at Uncle Shin's house."

Ichigo watched Taichi intently and took a deep breath, letting it out through his nostrils as he rose up out of the chair.

"You'll fill in the blanks on that story later. I'll be right back."

As soon as Taichi was alone again he slowly lifted his arm and looked at the stark white bandaging. He hadn't even felt the cut when it had happened and didn't notice it at all until the nurses were helping him out of his shirt. Luckily he hadn't hit any major veins or he might have been a bit worse off than he was. As it was he had swelling on the right half of his face from the punch he had received, possible cracked ribs, a concussion and a possible broken ankle; not to mention the rape before all of that had happened. If he took the men seriously it would mean that both of them had had their way with him and it was no wonder his ass was on fire. He was worried that they had hurt him bad back there but was too scared to tell the doctors what had happened. One reason was the fact that he was certain they would have to tell his fathers and no matter what Ichigo would find a way to get at Taichi's chart at some point. He didn't even want to think about the questions that would come from that situation.

The doctor that had been treating him since he had gotten to the hospital pushed the curtain aside and smiled benignly at Taichi before looking down at the chart in his hands.

"They're here to take you to x-ray but I wanted to make sure we covered everything. You aren't suffering anywhere other than what you've told us, are you?"

Taichi shook his head and two nurses came into the room to help him into a wheel chair. Taichi frowned at the contraption and almost asked if he could just have a pair of crutches when his upper body was lifted up suddenly. He couldn't have stopped the loud cry of pain if he had wanted two as a lightning flash of pain shot from the back of his head to the base of his spine. Tears sprang to his eyes and the nurses gently placed him back on the bed. Taichi's hands came up to cover his face as the pain continued to radiate throughout his body, burning away any of the remaining pain medication in his system. The tears wouldn't stop, the sobbing started again and Ichigo picked that time to walk back in the room. Taichi tried to control his involuntary reaction to the pain but the damage was done. He'd have to tell them what else was wrong with him and suffer the consequences.

"I thought there might be more." the doctor muttered and Ichigo shot him a glance.

"Tai, what's wrong?"

Taichi shook his head and kept his face covered. The doctor asked the nurses to step out for a moment and stepped closer to the bed.

"Were you hit in the back as well?" he asked and Taichi shook his head. God he didn't want to say it.

"Tai you have to t…," Ichigo started and Taichi's broken whisper stopped his words dead.

"I got raped."

* * *

Tomoe's head dropped back against the wall and she yawned loudly.

"Aren't they done yet?" she asked and Yayoi patted her arm placatingly.

"If they were you'd be on your way home."

Shinji walked into the waiting room with Nnoitra behind him and the three youths looked up at them. Nnoitra handed a plastic bag to Yayoi and frowned deeply at her when she stood up to retrieve it.

"Why ain't you wearin' a bra?"

Yayoi's mouth dropped open and her cheeks pinkened as she tried to stop the ridiculous urge to turn around to see the look on Sorin's face.

"I… Nnoi-chan I was _sleeping_."

Nnoitra pointed at her chest and shook his head. "Ya can't not wear one with tits that big."

"_Oh my God_." Yayoi face lit on fire and Tomoe stood, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading her away from Nnoitra.

"Geez Uncle Nnoi."

Nnoitra grunted and threw himself down in one of the plastic chairs. "I fuckin' hate this place." he grumbled and Sorin, still leaning against the wall, nodded.

"Why haven't they come out to tell us anything? Is that… does that mean something bad happened?" Sorin asked and Shinji shrugged.

"Maybe 'cos yer dad's back there."

A child ran unattended down the hallway, a petite nurse running after it and looking thoroughly pissed off about having to do so in the first place. Sorin looked out the portal and watched the child dodge the nurse three times before he was caught and smirked. Kid kind of reminded him of himself a bit. It was then he noticed Grimmjow walking down the hall and he looked back at his uncles.

"Dad's here." he said, watching both men stand and move to greet Grimmjow in the hall.

"Where the fuck is that idiot?" Grimmjow said the moment Shinji walked out of the waiting room.

Shinji's eyes narrowed as he answered. "He's bein' seen right now. Ichi's with him."

Grimmjow shook his head and looked down at his feet. "I'mma kick that kids' ass when I see him. How dare he-"

The crack of a slap echoed down the hallway and many eyes turned to stare at the scene. Ichigo and Taichi, along with the nurses taking Taichi to x-ray and the doctor, had just entered the hall when Shinji had slapped Grimmjow and both their mouths dropped open at the sight. Tomoe and Yayoi had been on their way back from the bathroom, Yayoi freshly changed but still highly embarrassed.

"Oto-chan!" Yayoi yelled and run up to her father's side.

Shinji continued to glare at Grimmjow, looking for all the world as if he wanted to say things but was so angry he couldn't manage to speak them. Yayoi pulled Shinji's arm, leading him away from Grimmjow and the others so that she could attempt to calm him down. The last thing anyone needed was a fight between the two men. The nurses turned the wheelchair Taichi was in towards x-ray and he closed his eyes. Tomoe stepped up beside Grimmjow and looked up at his face, frowning at the slight red mark that had appeared.

"Why'd he hit you?" she asked and Grimmjow's lip curled.

"Where's yer brother?" he asked by way of answering.

Ichigo stopped behind him and cleared his throat. "They just took him to get some x-rays. Grimmjow, what the hell was that?"

"I have no fucking idea." Tomoe watched Grimmjow pinch the bridge of his nose before he spoke again. "So what's wrong with him."

When Ichigo didn't immediately answer he looked up and caught the redhead's agitated expression. He frowned harder when Ichigo finally me this eyes and said, "We need to talk when we get home."

* * *

Taichi sighed and leaned back against the edge of the tub, one leg and one arm covered in plastic and hanging over the side. He'd wadded up a bath towel and set it underneath him for his backside but it did little to relieve the stiff pain that was setting in. As he stared up at the ceiling and let the heat from the water soak into his muscles he wondered what his punishment would be. As much as he wanted out of that house he wasn't stupid enough to think that he was anywhere near ready to leave. He'd proved that and then some to himself after what had happened these last four days and he knew he couldn't leave the next time without some sort of plan in mind. Planning took time and he'd need more money.

He'd been surprised when Ichigo hadn't asked him anything after he had admitted to the rape and happy to learn, after a quick examination, that aside from some minor tearing Taichi's ass was just fine. His back, however, was enflamed and sore and would be most likely for the rest of the day. Low level pain medication and bed rest was the advice given before Taichi had left the hospital. Stay off the foot and don't get the bandages wet. He'd been lucky with his ankle and he had only fractured the bone. He was hoping the healing time on that would be considerably less. At the light tap on the door Taichi lifted his head and watched the door open slowly. Sorin walked in with an arm load of towels and set them on the counter.

"Chichi told me to help you dry off." Sorin grumbled and Taichi snorted.

"Sorry. Just let me lean on you and I can do pretty much everything else."

Sorin frowned and stared at his bare feet. "So how'd you get all beat up? Did you at least win?"

Taichi shook his head. "Considering they probably would have killed me if I hadn't gotten away I'd say yeah, I won."

"What the fuck? Was it those stupid wanna be yakuza we ran into that one time?" Sorin asked loudly, referencing the last fight Taichi had ever been involved in the year before.

He shook his head. "No. Don't worry about it, it's over."

"Man, why'd you have to take off like that? Things are gonna get harder on me and Tomo too now because of you." Sorin complained suddenly and Taichi closed his eyes.

"Sorry."

"And dad was really freakin' out too." Sorin continued and Taichi groaned quietly. The last person he wanted to talk about at that moment was Grimmjow.

"Oh I bet."

"I'm serious. I've never seen him so… frantic. He started calling people and yelling orders and I'm pretty sure he threatened to cut one guys' nuts off if he didn't get some information for him."

Taichi frowned and looked back up at his brother. "What?"

Sorin nodded. "Yeah, Chichi said he ditched work Friday to look for you and that's where he was when Chichi got the call from uncle Shinji."

Taichi rolled his eyes and sank further into the water. "Whatever." Taichi doubted that Grimmjow did it for any sort of concern other than getting his hands around Taichi's neck.

"You done yet?" Sorin asked and Taichi sighed.

"Yeah, hold on a sec."

Sorin didn't say anything about the piercings, he'd seen the nipple ones when Taichi had shown them to Tomoe but he knew the ones on his hips were very new. He just let his brother lean on him and dried the parts that Taichi couldn't reach. As awkward as it was to dry his naked brother, Sorin managed to get it done quickly and without hurting Taichi in the process. Taichi wrapped his hair in a towel and pulled on a robe before he leaned once again on Sorin so that he could be led back to his bedroom. He hated having to rely on anyone for help but he was too tired at that point to care. Sorin eased him onto his bed and left him alone again. Taichi took a deep breath and lowered his head down on his pillow, hissing a bit at the pain as he stretched out on his bed. The mattress was so soft, the sheets and blanket smelled so good and Taichi closed his eyes, breathed deeply and bit down on his lip.

He didn't hear Ichigo step into the room but he heard the door shut and buried his face in the pillow. Ichigo grabbed the chair from in front of Taichi's desk and brought it closer to the bed, sitting heavily in it before crossing his arms over his chest.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Better." Taichi said through the pillow fibers.

"You hungry?"

Taichi shook his head even though he knew he was starving. All he wanted was to be alone so he could hopefully pass out and never wake up again. Taichi felt a hand on his shoulder and he squeezed his eyes shut tight.

"I'll make you something anyway." Ichigo said, walking slowly across the room and stopping at the door.

"And we'll talk about all this tomorrow, okay?"

Taichi nodded again and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. At least Ichigo was going to let him have some time to gather his thoughts before he got yelled at for everything he'd done. He'd been expecting both Grimmjow and Ichigo to jump him the moment they had gotten home but Grimmjow had stomped off to his room and Ichigo had ordered Sorin to get the bath ready for Taichi to soak in. By the time Ichigo brought Taichi some food Taichi feigned sleep so that he would be left alone again. He ate the food as quickly as he could before curling up in the bed and closing his eyes. At least if he was dreaming he didn't have to think about what had happened to him and what was to come.

* * *

A/N Well I hope this turned out good, lol. I'm not sure if I'm completely happy with it as is but... It got a lot of things out of the way and out in the open. Yu all probably have more questions now too, lol. Ah well~ I'll hopefully get more of this out soon. For those of you that don't know yet, my story Underground has been updated with a second chapter and there's a new story out called The Search for Paradise that I'd love for y'all to check out.

Anyway, enjoy an hopefully I'll have another update of _something_for you very~ soon~

Enjoy~

~Penny


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"I think we should break up."

Yayoi blinked at the young man towering above her, a normal occurrence at her short stature, and frowned.

"What?"

The young man, dark hair cut as short as hair could be without going bald and black eyes narrow and almost cold looking, leaned forward and rested a hand against the wall they were standing next to. It was just before lunch break and they had run into each other as Yayoi was headed back to her classroom after being sent to the nurse's office. She hadn't been feeling all that hot since she had seen Taichi covered in blood and bruises and her teacher had apparently noticed.

"Look, I'm not going to sit here and feed you some bullshit story. I can't date a girl who won't put out." he said in an almost irritated tone and Yayoi's frown deepened.

"We've only been going out five days. We haven't even been alone yet!" she protested incredulously.

The young man shrugged and pushed away from the wall, looking down the hall to avoid meeting her tilted blue eyes.

"Plus… you look like a guy with boobs with your hair that short. Total turn off."

As soon as the words left his mouth he shoved his hands in his pants pockets and turned to walk away, leaving Yayoi wide eyed and gaping after him. Snapping her mouth closed she looked down at the floor and reached up to finger the short hairs above her right ear. Thin black eyebrows pulled together and she frowned. She thought her hair looked rather good styled this way –cropped short with the left side longer and thick bangs swept across her forehead– and it wasn't as if she had cut it like this on a whim. He father and her both had decided to donate their long beautiful hair to Locks of Love months ago and she had poured over fashion magazines with Tomoe to find a style for short hair that would look good on her. A lot of thought and care had gone into her decision and now, after that one comment, she was utterly regretting it. She looked like a boy? Distantly she heard the bells chime for lunch hour to begin but ignored the people as they began to file passed her in the hallway.

That was how Sorin found her, standing sullenly next to an empty classroom looking like a dark and rainy cloud had just appeared over her head. His smile at the prospect of food switched instantly to a scowl and he made his way to her side.

"Yayoi, what's up?" he called out but she made no response.

Sorin sighed and slouched against the wall next to her. "Don't be like that. Yer supposed to smile."

Yayoi brushed her fingers through the hair above her ear again and sniffled quietly. Sorin froze, eyes going wide and jaw tightening a bit at the sound. He lowered his head so he could better see Yayoi's face and he scowled harder.

"What's wrong?"

Yayoi sniffled again and looked up at Sorin with large, tear filled sky blue eyes. Sorin's heart dropped to his stomach and his breath stopped in his throat. Yayoi's chin trembled a bit and sheer panic forced him into action. Sorin reached out and slid the door open to the empty classroom, grabbed Yayoi's arm and yanked her inside the room. He slid the door closed with a sharp snap and whirled around just in time to see a tear break free from thick black lashes.

"My hair." Yayoi whispered at the same time Sorin muttered, "Oh shit."

"No, no! Don't _cry_." Sorin put his hands up in front of him and looked around the room for assistance. _Any_thing to make her stop crying immediately.

"I look… like a boy." Yayoi hiccupped and more tears fell.

"What? No. No you totally don't!" Sorin shook his head and tried to smile when Yayoi looked up at him again.

He watched her chin tremble again and she took a deep breath before she spoke.

"I look like a boy with huge tits!"

Sorin paled and looked faint as Yayoi threw her arms around his waist and proceeded to cry her heart out into his thin school shirt. Hands still up in the air and legs stiff as boards, the only thing Sorin could do was try and remember how to breathe properly. _Crap_, he thought to himself. _Why did I have to run into her _now?

"Who… who said anything like that? There's no way…."

Yayoi hugged tighter. "Just now. Just now he said it." she sobbed.

"Who?"

"And then…." Yayoi sniffed hard and rubbed her face on Sorin's shirt. "And then he _dumped_ me."

Sorin's eyebrows shot up and he looked down at the top of Yayoi's head. "You have a boyfriend?"

Yayoi's shoulders shook and she started to cry harder. "Not anymore." she wailed.

Sorin took a deep breath and set his hands awkwardly, though gently on Yayoi's shoulders.

"Hey, c'mon. It can't be that bad, you know?" he tried and Yayoi shook her head against his chest.

"He said we had to break up because…," she stopped and sighed, realizing that there was no way in hell she could tell Sorin _that_ part of the reason. Sorin wasn't exactly known for being able to control his temper and Yayoi new he wouldn't hold back if he knew.

Sorin scowled and continued to look curiously down at her. "What?"

Yayoi sniffed and slowly pulled out of the brutal hug she had given Sorin as she cried. It suddenly hit her that she had just bawled her eyes out in front of _Sorin_, and she felt like the biggest idiot alive.

"It's nothing. Sorry, I guess I'm a little tired." she muttered.

"Ah!" Sorin breathed quietly, suddenly patting his pockets before pulling out a wadded tissue from his left front one. "Here." he said, pulling it open quickly before handing it to Yayoi.

"Thanks." she quickly dabbed at her cheeks and was for once glad that she wasn't allowed to wear makeup.

"Why are you carrying tissue?" she wondered aloud and Sorin stood up straighter and looked a little sheepish.

"I uh…. We had a math test today and I was… my hands got all sweaty and…."

Yayoi looked down at the tissue and frowned. Sorin cleared his throat to try and fill the sudden awkward tension but it didn't help. Yayoi was silently contemplating whether she would need a trip to the bathroom or not to really wash her face after using a used, hand-sweat tissue. Sorin was wishing he was already in the lunch room and that Yayoi would forget what he had just admitted.

"You… you should have stayed home for another day. Gotten more rest, you know?" Sorin stated as he shifted his weight and looked anywhere but the girl in front of him. "You were with us at the hospital until Taichi got discharged and you went through all that stuff when he showed up at your place."

Yayoi nodded and wiped at her cheeks again with the back of her hand.

"I can… walk you to the nurses' office if you want." Sorin offered and she shook her head, looking up at him again this time with dry though red eyes.

"It's okay. I've used enough of your lunch as it is. I'll be fine."

Sorin frowned and nodded a little. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I need to go find Tomoe." she said as she reached for the door and pulled it open.

With a light blush on her cheeks she looked back over her shoulder and smiled weakly.

"Thank you." she half whispered before leaving him alone.

Sorin shook his head and blew out all the air in his lungs before looking down at his shirt to make sure nothing gross was on it. Girls were so scary, especially when they cried and he hoped he hadn't done anything stupid. Yayoi would definitely tell Tomoe if he had and then Tomoe would kick his ass for it. Sorin hated to admit it, and certainly wouldn't say this to anyone out loud, but Tomoe was strong and hit harder than some guys he knew. It didn't help that he wasn't allowed to hit her back, not that he would. With another sigh, Sorin shook his head and walked out of the room, heading towards the lunch room; his mind already on the food.

* * *

"Oh my God that fuckin' _prick_!" Tomoe said loudly and Yayoi tried to shush her.

"Tomo, please. Not so loud." she said, looking around the half empty classroom to find no one paying them any attention.

"No way, I'm gonna go kick his ass." Tomoe continued as she began shoving items back in her bag.

"Stop it. I just want to forget about it now, okay. He's not worth getting this upset over."

Tomoe had immediately known something was up when Yayoi had finally joined her for lunch and Yayoi had had no option but to tell the other girl everything. Predictably Tomoe had gotten loud and hell-bent on seeking violence. Yayoi sighed and rested an elbow on the desk in front of her. She was too tired to try and talk her friend out of detention today.

"Yer just gonna let him say that and not punish him for it?" Tomoe frowned, her bottom lip jutting out a bit in a pout, and Yayoi nodded.

"It's not worth it."

"The fuck it isn't!" Tomoe shouted again and Yayoi rolled her eyes.

"Tomo, you're going to get us in trouble. Hush."

Tomoe leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest as she let out a gust of air.

"Yer no fun. You should just let me be yer bodyguard so I can beat the hell out of men like that asshole." she said, smiling once she was done. "Now that'd be fun."

"And then get you'd get us expelled from school. That would make both yours and my fathers just _exstatic_."

Yayoi sighed and folded her arms on the table so she could rest her chin on them.

"I can't believe I cried in front of Sorin like that." she mumbled.

Tomoe snorted and patted Yayoi on the head. "Oh I'm sure he didn't mind havin' _those_ pressed against him." she grinned.

Yayoi blushed and buried her face in her arms. God didn't play fair. At least if he were going to make her look like porn star Barbie he'd have given her a proper, feminine face. Reed thin, abnormally naturally disproportionate bust and a face that announced to the world she was her father's daughter; yes, God hadn't played fair with her.

"Then again he's a moron and was probably too freaked out that you were cryin' to pay attention to the fact that yer tits were all over him."

"Oh my _God_ Tomo, shut _up_." Yayoi groaned and squeezed her eyes shut.

Tomoe snorted. "Hey, that's what you get for going to him first."

"I did _not_ go to him he just… found me. And can we stop talking about my boobs please?"

Tomoe sighed again and reached for her bottle of water on the desk in front of her. "Fine."

"How's Tai?"

Tomoe shrugged and looked out the window her and Yayoi were seated next to. She was still upset with her brother for running away like he had.

"Sleeping when I left this morning, just like all day yesterday and last night." she mumbled.

"Well he was pretty worn out. I would be too if all that had happened to me." Yayoi commented as she remembered how Taichi had looked that night. She shivered and followed Tomoe's gaze out the window.

Tomoe stood and stretched before she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Yeah well that's what he gets for running away in the first place." she tossed out and shrugged.

"You're so mean." Yayoi smirked.

Tomoe grinned and shook her hair back over her shoulder. "And you love me. See ya after school." she said brightly before walking out of the room just as the bells chimed to signal the end of the lunch break.

* * *

Sorin waited against a tree at the bus stop and watched the cars pass as he waited. Tomoe had a club that day so she would be going home later, but Sorin was off the hook for everything for once. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with himself but figured going home first to change would be best. Perhaps by then he could decide between going for a run or hitting the small weight room Grimmjow had set up in a large shed in the backyard. Sorin didn't like down time and used most of his relaxation moments as a chance to get more exercise. Tomoe had once told him it was an addiction but he'd called her stupid. Keeping active wasn't an addiction, it was… fun. Better than sitting down and letting it get all pent up. Sorin had a lot of energy to expend, after all.

He wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings until a loud group of students joined him at the stop. Sorin didn't know them so tried to block out their conversation but their voices were loud enough to carry halfway down the sidewalk. He scowled at the sidewalk and thought about reaching for his headphones.

"Dude, you should have seen the look on that guy's face. He looked like a total retard." one young man said and the others laughed.

"So what's up with you, Akira? I thought you said you'd be busy this week?" another spoke and Sorin looked down the road away from the group.

"Ah, that. Well that was before the chick I was dating cut all her hair off."

Sorin stiffened and suddenly found himself listening intently. This couldn't be the guy Yayoi was talking about earlier, could it?

"What? The junior with the huge knockers?"

"Yeah. Hirako. Stupid bitch looks like a tranny now."

In the blink of an eye Sorin stood over a bleeding young man with short dark hair and had to wonder for a moment why his fist hurt so bad. He hadn't remembered moving, nor did he remember his fist making contact with the other man's face. Akira looked up at Sorin, his hand covering his mouth in shock.

"What the fuck, man?"

Sorin, moving more on instinct than conscious action, bent and grabbed the front of Akira's shirt, lifting him easily off the sidewalk so that he could look at the other on level ground. Sorin's lip curled and he pulled back his fist again, slamming it into the middle of Akira's face. The young man's head snapped back and Sorin's hand tightened on the shirt he was holding as he pulled back for another punch.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who the hell are you?" one of Akira's companions screamed, though he seemed unwilling to try and back up his friend in any other way.

"Fuck you." Sorin muttered and hit Akira again before letting go and watching him fall to a bloody heap on the ground. Sorin bent over slightly and stuck his finger in Akira's face, his eyes narrowing and his lip sneering.

"You go near her again… you make her _cry_ again, and I will fucking kill you, you hear me asshole?" he said, his voice low and even, menace caressing each word.

Akira, holding his face again this time with both hands, nodded. The bus pulled up to the stop and Sorin shook out his hand a couple times before he boarded, paid his fare and took his seat. He didn't bother looking out the window as the bus pulled away from the curb and drove off to its next destination and he slipped his headphones over his ears. Now that he had gotten a little aggression out he had decided that a nice long run was in order once he got home and changed. Mood greatly improved, Sorin smiled and watched the scenery out the window as he waited for his own stop to come.

* * *

Taichi blinked his eyes opened and sighed when he was met with his over-bright bedroom. He had no idea what time it was and his entire body hurt so bad he was afraid to move to check the clock. With a deep sigh Taichi tilted his head and saw the time at three-forty. Since it was light out he assumed that meant PM and he took a deep breath. He figured he was alone in the house at the moment, but that would change soon. Sorin would be home by at least six, usually with Tomoe unless she had debate. Then she'd be home an hour after that just before Ichigo came home. Grimmjow was home any time between five and ten so Taichi figured he had at least an hour to himself.

Ignoring the fact that his head spun when he sat up, Taichi swung his legs slowly over the side of the bed and looked around for something he could use to lean on to keep his weight off his ankle. He noticed a single crutch leaning against the wall by his bedroom door and sighed, grateful that someone had even thought about helping him. Hoping to the opposite side of the room with a dizzy head, a hurt ankle and bruised ribs wasn't one of Taichi's better ideas and once he had made it to where the crutch was he had to take a moment to catch his breath, clear his head and wait for the pain to recede. He wondered briefly if he had been prescribed any pain medications and filed it away to ask his father when he saw him. Right before the lecture and argument he was sure to be receiving that night.

With another deep breath he pushed away from the wall and tried to banish the face of his attackers that showed up every time he closed his eyes. It didn't scare him, not in the least, it pissed him off. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid and he knew he had no one to blame for his current situation but himself. Taking the men to the room? Big mistake. He could have conducted his business outside beforehand and everything would have been just fine. He'd still be gone and probably sleeping comfortably without pain. The muscles in Taichi's back stiffened and pulled and he stopped, sucking in a breath and waiting for the wave of fire laced lighting to go away. He fought back the urge to vomit at the thought of what those men had done to him and let his breath out slowly before finishing his walk to the bathroom.

Taichi couldn't remember the last time he had ever had trouble using the bathroom on his own but he certainly wasn't going to wait around for someone to help him with it. It had been embarrassing enough to have Sorin towel him off when he had gotten home, Taichi didn't want someone watching him use the toilet. Taichi took a short moment to at least gargle some mouthwash before he made his way slowly to the kitchen for something to eat. If he was lucky he could still make it back to his bed with time to spare before anyone came home. He wanted to try and get as much time to get things straight in his head before he had to speak with his fathers.

Luck was yet again not on Taichi's side this week however and he stopped and almost fell when he walked into his father as the man came out of the kitchen. Taichi managed to catch himself before he looked up and quickly away from dark blue eyes.

"What the hell are you doin' out of yer room?" Grimmjow's deep voice rumbled and Taichi scowled.

"Hungry." he said simply and Grimmjow grunted.

"Kinda late for a snack. Can't you wait 'til dinner?"

Taichi rolled his eyes and turned to walk back to his room. "Fine." he said shortly and grit his teeth.

Grimmjow let out a puff of air and ran his hand back through his hair as he watched his oldest son struggle to walk away from him with only one crutch.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked and Taichi stopped moving.

"I'm not hungry anymore."

"Bullshit. Don't pull this prissy, bitchy attitude with me. What the hell do you wanna eat?" Grimmjow snapped and Taichi stiffened.

"I said I'm not hungry anymore."

Grimmjow threw up his hands and let out a harsh gust of air before he closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath. Taichi could hear Grimmjow doing all of this behind him but he tried to ignore it and walk back to his room again. He didn't want to be in the same room with the man any longer than he had to be. It seemed like every time they were together it ended in harsh and often loud words, hurt feelings and periods of complete avoidance. The corners of Taichi's mouth dipped to a frown and bit his lip as he tried to concentrate on not falling. He heard a rustle of movement behind him and froze when he felt the weight of Grimmjow's hand suddenly on the back of his neck. The skin was warm and slightly rough and Taichi blinked hard at the sudden attention. He couldn't' remember the last time Grimmjow had ever touched him like this and it made him wary, unsure. He didn't know how he was supposed to react to that and he tried to control the sudden increase of is heart rate. When Grimmjow's hand squeezed gently before dropping away Taichi closed his eyes and listened to him walk away.

"Go sit on the couch and I'll heat up some leftovers for you." Grimmjow said in a gruff tone as he walked back to the kitchen.

Taichi waited until he heard Grimmjow making noise before his entire body shuddered and his eyes snapped open. Grimmjow rarely touched Taichi anymore and it rattled the youth every time he did. It was as if affection from the man toward Taichi were laced with confusion, doubt, old hurts and this odd sense that Grimmjow was trying to say things that never reached his mouth; which only confused Taichi more. Shaking himself again –he didn't want to think about that right then– and sighing, Taichi hobbled his way to the couch and waited for his food.

* * *

Tomoe cocked her head to the side as she looked at the magazine and she frowned.

"Would this look good on me?" she asked and shoved the picture at the young man standing next to her.

Narrow black eyes set on an impassive face looked down and regarded it a moment before he replied, his surprisingly deep voice still giving Tomoe the near uncontrollably urge to giggle.

"It would make you look hippy." he said in an even tone before going back to staring out the convenient store window.

"You think?" Tomoe asked as she pulled the magazine closer again and cocked her head to the other side.

"Whadd'you think, Yo?"

Yayoi, standing on the opposite side of Tomoe, nodded and sighed. "I agree with Ishida. It'd make your hips look big."

Tomoe rolled her eyes and tossed the magazine back on the rack. She was looking for the perfect summer dress and so far had found nothing.

"Fuck it. I'm fat and I have no boobs." she pouted.

"You can have mine." Yayoi grumbled. "In exchange, give me some of your butt."

Ishida sighed and pushed a bit of dark brown hair behind his ear. "Women are weird." he said simply and both Tomoe and Yayoi nodded in agreement.

Sora Ishida, oldest son of Orihime and Uryuu Ishida and named after his dearly departed uncle on his mother's side, had been in the same classes as Yayoi since primary school. Since Tomoe was a year ahead of Yayoi and wasn't with her during school, Yayoi had ended up befriending the quiet, exceedingly blunt young man. Somehow the three of them had created a bond that even to them was weird. But it worked so neither of them were willing to look too far into it.

"What time are you supposed to be getting out of club again?" Yayoi asked, looking at her cellphone to check the time.

"Whatever, let's just go back. If uncle Nnoi catches us not there we'll get grounded." Tomoe said, sighing in disgust and stomping out the door.

Ishida sighed and picked up the bag he had set at his feet. "I thought we were buying stuff." he said and Yayoi shrugged.

"I guess not." she replied and followed Tomoe out the door.

Nnoitra made sure he was standing outside the school the minute the girls were released from any activity. In his mind they had no business out and about where trouble could happen and he, along with Grimmjow imposing ridiculous curfews on Tomoe, made sure it happened as little as possible. Tomoe and Yayoi had both entered a club that they knew they could slack off in so that they had a few hours just to wander and be themselves after school a few days a week. Ishida had been bored and followed them in just about whatever they did until something else caught his interest.

By the time they made it back to the school and out front where Nnoitra usually sat in wait he was just pulling up in his car. He rolled the window down and scowled at Ishida a moment before he told the girls to hurry up and get in. Tomoe rolled her eyes and took the front seat.

"See ya, Ishida." she said before slamming the door shut.

Yayoi turned to him and whispered quickly, "I'll text you later. I have something to tell you."

Ishida nodded and smiled faintly, reflexively, when Yayoi grinned and trotted to the car. He watched them drive off, ignoring the glare the man behind the wheel sent him, before he turned and started his long walk home. He may not show it much but he was always entertained while with those two. He didn't even mind the scary giant that glared death at him or the bubbly man who even at his late age could pull off powder pink suits. It made him feel more normal knowing that there were other people out there that were… _not_ normal.

In the car Tomoe looked back into the backseat and smiled at Yayoi. "We need to go bathing suit shopping this weekend."

Nnoitra shook his head and turned on the blinker. "No bikini's."

"Fuck that!" Tomoe cried indignantly.

"Shut up. I said no and I mean it. I ain't gonna have a bunch a fuckin' pervy assholes checkin' ya two out on the fuckin' beach. Ferget it."

"Nnoi-chan..." Yayoi started before she shook her head and sighed. "Nevermind."

Nnoitra frowned and went silent, knowing something was up, and braced himself for Yayoi's attack. When she didn't say anything he looked quickly back at her through the rearview mirror.

"What?" he grunted and Yayoi sighed again.

"I just had a weird day and I wish you two wouldn't argue so loud."

Nnoitra frowned. "But…."

"Besides," Yayoi continued, noticing Tomoe's smirk out of the corner of her eye. She looked up at met Nnoitra's eyes through the mirror and frowned sadly.

"It'd be better to cover up so they can just imagine us completely naked."

Nnoitra's frowned deepened. Well he didn't fuckin' want that!

"If we left less to the imagination, don't you think they'd be happy with the amount they saw and less likely to think that far?"

Tomoe snorted and tried to cover it with a cough into her fisted hand. Nnoitra thought about it a bit, driving fast down the narrow back streets to Tomoe's house. That… could make sense. Right? He didn't want men thinking of his little girls naked so wouldn't it be best to dress them so that men didn't want to think that far. Nnoitra's frowned deepened further as he started to get a little confused and irritated.

"I know, why don't we just get oversized t-shirts from Sorin. Those would cover up a bunch. Leave it all up to their one track minds." Tomoe put in and Nnoitra braked too hard at a stop sign.

"Fine!" Nnoitra snapped and Yayoi bit her lips as she looked down into her lap.

"Just… yer dads' gotta approve too."

"Thank you Nnoi-chan." Yayoi whispered and tried not to smile.

"Thank you uncle Nnoi." Tomoe whispered as well and looked out the passenger window as she did her best to suppress her laughter.

It was a little too easy to confuse Nnoitra sometimes, especially any time after six at night when he'd been at work all day, but the girls never backed down from using that to their advantage when absolutely needed. Now, as long as they picked something tasteful, they'd be able to get cute little bikini's to wear to the beach and –hopefully– flirt with cute guys in.

* * *

Since Ichigo had been asked down to the hospital to cover for someone that night the lecture that Taichi and everyone in the house had been expecting and preparing for didn't happen. Taichi passed out early thanks to the pain medication Grimmjow had handed him with a bowl full of reheated Chinese takeout and a tall glass of water. Tomoe was too engrossed in her latest harlequin romance novel to think about sleep or studying for the test she had in her history class the next day. Sorin was just getting ready to settle in his bed and get some sleep when his cellphone alerted him to a text. Frowning and wondering who could be texting him past ten at night he reached for his phone.

_I'm sorry for crying on you today._

Sorin blushed and sat heavily on his bed before he answered.

_Whatever_

Another little green bubble appeared on the screen and he read the reply.

_And thanks for not freaking out. I'll make it up to you._

"You don't have to." Sorin said out loud, frowning at his cellphone. "I didn't do anything."

_Goodnight_.

_Yeah. Night._

Sorin bit his lip and stared at the screen a moment longer before falling back on his bed and sighing loudly. He loved it when Yayoi texted him, even more so when it was right before he fell asleep. Sorin plugged his phone into its charger and set it on the floor before he crawled under his sheets and quickly passed out. Yayoi sighed with a contented smile and rolled over onto her side in her bed, placing her phone under her pillow before snuggling it. She couldn't keep the stupid blush from her cheeks every time she approached Sorin in any way. She didn't really get why she got so nervous about it, they'd known each other their entire lives and had even used to bathe together…. At the thought Yayoi squealed and shoved her face into her pillow. No, no, no. Not good to think about that sort of thing before dreaming. Yayoi did her best to clear her mind and after only being successful in picturing Sorin shirtless and wet she gave up and decided to study instead.

* * *

A/N I am sooooooooo sorry for taking so long away from posting stuff. Penny's been busy busy busy with good things. Anyway, aww. Young love~ And yes, you saw that right, that IS an Ishida OC in the story. He plays a rather significant part so hopefully you all end up liking him. Ah, Penny doesn't know what to say~~ lol Sleepy but still in writer mode so I'mm go see if I can get closer to finishing another update for all my Duckies.

Hope you liked it!

~Penny


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"All right all you wanna be strippers, get in line." Yumichika called out to a small crowd of young dancers. He was currently the manager of Wank as well as Solid Gold and he took his jobs now as seriously as he had in the past.

Ichigo spared the man a glance and a nod as he walked passed and into the office he shared with Shinji. Ichigo shut the door behind him and leaned against it with his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at Shinji sitting behind the desk. Shinji looked up and gave Ichigo a weak smile before he sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"What's up?" Ichigo asked, frowning a little.

Shinji had called him that morning and asked him to meet him at Wank when he was on his lunch break at the clinic he worked at. Ichigo didn't understand why this couldn't be done over the phone but Shinji had absolutely insisted that what he had to say must be done in person.

"I've been thinkin'. About what happened to Taichi." Shinji started, leaning against the only desk in the small office. He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it across the short distance to Ichigo.

Ichigo took it and frowned as he read the small printed words. He shook his head. "Shin, he doesn't need therapy."

"Do ya have any idea what it does to a person, somethin' like that?" Shinji asked, furrowing his brow and frowning hard at his friend.

Ichigo hadn't told Shinji the part about what the men had done to Taichi so he assumed that the blond was talking about the beating. Ichigo shook his head again and set the card on the desk.

"Shinji, he got beat up. It's no big–"

"Ichigo, I know a rape victim when I see one." Shinji said flatly and watched the shock crawl across Ichigo's features. "And I know what it does to someone no matter how strong they are. He may not be showin' anythin' right now but eventually he's gonna need someone ta talk to. He's just like you were back then, when _you_ got raped. Tryin' ta pretend that it don't matter. That it's no big deal until later it hits him what happened and he's a fuckin' mess. Unlike you I doubt he's in love with the person who did it and who knows what he'll turn to when his shit falls apart. You and I both know what the possibilities are and, frankly Ichi, it scares me thinkin' about Tai gettin' into stuff like that."

Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose –choosing to ignore that little bit of his own past Shinji brought up– and closed his eyes before he dropped his arms to his sides and reached for the card again.

"Fine. I'll talk to him about it. But I'm going to leave it up to Tai, alright?"

Shinji smiled tightly and nodded. "Perfect. Now, before ya go I got business!"

Ichigo groaned and his entire body sagged. "Shin, it's my _lunch_ break."

"Quit whinin'." Shinji smiled and handed Ichigo a sheaf of papers. "Sign those and ya can leave, doctor man."

Ichigo groaned again and took a seat before flipping through the papers he had been handed. He had a feeling he was going to be back late to work.

* * *

"Tomoe!"

Tomoe stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned when she heard her name, scowling because she was already late to get herself lunch. When she saw who it was approaching her –fake blond hair and a wide fake smile– she rolled her eyes and made no attempt to hide her contemp.

"What?" she snapped as soon as the girl was close to her and the girl smiled tightly.

"Is your brother any better now? He's been sick quite a while."

The story that had been feed to the teachers and therefore the entire student body about Taichi's absence was that he currently had the flu. Every day since the school week had started this girl had approached Tomoe to ask how Taichi was doing. Every day Tomoe's irrational hatred grew.

"Yeah, so? He's sick."

"Well can he at least _talk_?" the girl asked and Tomoe's eye narrowed.

"If he _could_ don't you think he would have called you or somethin'?" Tomoe asked through her teeth.

Haru Saitou, one of the most popular girls in the school as well as one of the smartest, was Taichi's current girlfriend. Tomoe had no idea what her brother saw in this girl though and from day one she had decided to hate her.

"I just figured…." Haru started, frowning at the floor.

"Maybe he's sick of ya already. Tai does that sometimes. He likes to play with pretty things until they aren't pretty anymore." Tomoe smirked evilly and cocked her head to the side.

"I guess you aren't pretty anymore. Sad for you."

On that note Tomoe walked quickly away, leaving the girl standing shocked in the middle of an empty hallway. Tomoe, quite proud of herself at the moment, decided to forgo lunch and hunt Yayoi and Ishida down to see what they were up to. Yayoi liked to spend her lunches one of two ways: sitting in the classroom with Tomoe, talking about boys and other girly things, or retreating to the south building's roof to eat in the sun. Sure enough Yayoi and Ishida both were sitting comfortably, eating their lunch while Yayoi chatted on and on about a proposal of changes she was going to make to present to her father in regards to Solid Gold. Shinji had told Yayoi that he would sign it completely over to her the day she graduated from college and she had been doing her part to ensure that she would be worthy.

"First of all I'd move the restaurant part back a little, I like the idea of moving the hosting part upstairs but we're still not sure if we'll be able to buy or lease the area for that. Anyway–"

"I think I made someone cry!" Tomoe said in greeting, cutting Yayoi off and bringing all the attention on herself.

Yayoi shook her head. "Who this time?"

"Haru Whatever. Taichi's slut of the month." Tomoe plopped down next to Ishida and stole a piece of fruit from his bento.

"Tomo, that's so mean. Maybe he likes these girls." Yayoi commented and handed Tomoe her leftover bento.

Tomoe took it and started eating as she spoke. "Yeah. And I'm a triple F."

"Did they break up?" Ishida asked, keeping his face blank and looking off in the distance.

"Fuck if I know." Tomoe said around a mouth full of rice before swallowing. "Who cares?"

Ishida shrugged and Yayoi bit her lip. "So are we going straight home after school today?" she asked to change the subject.

"Hell no. Daddy and Chichi are gonna be taking to Tai and I'd rather take advantage of that and stay the hell away."

Yayoi frowned sadly and looked down into her lap. "I hope they aren't too hard on him." she said quietly and Tomoe snorted.

"Yeah, good luck there." Tomoe sighed and handed Yayoi back her bento. "Anyway, I was thinkin' we should hit that thrift store we always avoid."

Ishida sighed and Yayoi giggled. "Why do we avoid that one anyway?"

Tomoe shrugged and stood when she heard the bells chime the end of lunch period.

"Because it looks like creepy, dirty people work inside it." Ishida said and began to gather his things.

Tomoe slung her arm around Ishida's shoulders and ignored the look he gave her. "It's okay. I brought extra hand sanitizer for you."

Ishida shrugged her arm off and sighed. "Fine. But we stop at the bookstore too."

Tomoe laughed and slapped Yayoi lightly on the shoulder. "See, he's learning so well."

Yayoi laughed and they each made their way back to their classrooms.

* * *

Taichi looked down at his sister's cell phone and waited for Daisuke to call him back. He'd managed to talk Tomoe into leaving her phone with him that morning as his own had been confiscated as soon as he had gotten home. He needed to let Daisuke know what had happened before he heard anything different from someone else. Taichi knew how quickly stories could be blown far out of proportion and Daisuke, God love him, would believe just about anything. When the phone finally rang he jumped and winced when it hurt, his ribs aching and his ass throbbing.

"Hey." Taichi answered with slightly gritted teeth before blowing out a quiet breath.

"Got caught?" Daisuke asked and Taichi sighed.

"In a way. I got some guys to get me a room but things went bad and I kinda got the crap beat out of me."

There was a long silence before Daisuke breathed out hard against the receiver, the crackling rush of air making Taichi smirk for some reason.

"Holy shit. What… what happened?"

"Long story short, I offered blow jobs to two guys if they signed up a room for me. They wanted more than I was willing to offer. So they knocked me out and when I came to…. Anyway, I jumped out the window and ended up in the hospital."

"God, how can you say all that without bursting into _tears_?" Daisuke asked loudly, his voice sounding a little weaker than normal.

Taichi shrugged and closed his eyes. "Nothing I can do about it now." he muttered with a frown.

"I'm so sorry. I should have just stayed with you. I'm a horrible friend." Daisuke sniffled loudly.

"No, I'm an idiot for doing things the way I did. This is what I get when I act impulsively." Taichi took a deep breath and cleared his throat before continuing.

"Look, I need you to get ahold of someone for me." he started and he could almost hear the frown in Daisuke's voice when he replied.

"Who?"

"Yammy."

"Taichi! You told me you stopped doing that!" Daisuke yelled into the phone and Taichi held his own away from his ear. He sighed.

"I did. Mostly. Look, we hadn't finished making the deal to get me out and I don't want him thinking I've changed my mind, okay? Just let him know I got messed up and I can't get anywhere right now." Taichi frowned down at his ankle and sighed. Only two people out of the ones that knew him personally knew about some of his more dangerous extracurricular activities and Daisuke was one of them. While the other young man didn't approve, they had both started out doing exactly what Taichi was trying to get out of now.

"At least not until my ankle heals a bit more."

"Oh you know what? _I_ am going to kick your ass for making me do this. I hate that guy!" Daisuke complained.

"I know. And you're the best friend in the entire world for doing this for me."

Daisuke made a sound of disgust and breathed loudly into the receiver. "Fine. But only because I don't want you getting in even more trouble over this mess you got yourself in."

"_We_ got into. You left early, remember?" Taichi commented almost bitterly before sighing softly.

Taichi waited through the silence, a slow smile finally pulling at his lips. "I love you."

"One of these days saying that won't make me forgive you." Daisuke sighed again. "I love you too, you stupid bitch."

Taichi chuckled and shook his head. "Thank you, Dai."

* * *

Tomoe pulled a dress from the rack in front of her and frowned at it, taking the skirt in hand and spreading the pleats as far as they would go.

"That's pretty." Yayoi said to her left and Tomoe grunted.

"Yeah but will it look good with my hair?"

Ishida shook his head and continued to card through the endless line of used dresses. "No. Purple and your hair do not go."

Yayoi frowned and nodded as well. "He's right. I don't know how Ichi-chan does it but…."

"You didn't inherit that trait from your dad." Ishida said bluntly and looked up into Tomoe's eyes. Tomoe was a good four inches above Ishida but she rarely, if ever, intimidated him.

Tomoe scowled, pushing a bit of her long, dark orange hair behind her ear and biting her lip before shoving the dress back on the rack. "Fine."

"We've been here a while." Ishida said irritably and Tomoe rolled her eyes.

"Quit bitching." she snapped and reached for another dress.

Yayoi looked at Ishida and watched a thin, straight eyebrow raise and an angular head tilt to the side. She sighed and tried to stop a fight before one started by quickly asking Ishida a question.

"Have you decided whether or not you're going to drop that baking class yet?" She leaned forward and looked up at Ishida, willing him to forget that he was irritated with Tomoe at the moment.

"No." he said curtly. "And you promised we could stop by the book store." he returned his attention to Tomoe.

"Oh my God. What are you, five?" Tomoe gave the younger man an indignant look and pushed passed him so she could continue her search for the perfect summer dress.

"What if they run out of the book I want? It's very popular in many circles and if I don't get a new copy of it…."

Yayoi sighed.

"What? Are you just gonna _die_?"

Dark eyes narrowed and Ishida's thin lips pulled into a straight line. "Have you gained weight recently?"

Tomoe's mouth dropped open and Yayoi's shoulders sagged.

"Ishida…."

"You little asshole!" Tomoe screeched and the shop owner turned disapproving eyes on her. "Just get if you want yer little freak book so bad!"

"It's not a freak book!" Ishida shouted back and Yayoi held up her hands in front of her.

"Okay, okay. Tomoe hasn't gained weight and Ishida doesn't read… freak stuff. Okay?"

"Shut up Yo." Tomoe scowled before turning back to the rack in front of her, hands trembling has she tried her best to hold in her anger. It may not have looked like it to many around her but she had been trying really hard lately to be a tad more in control of things. Didn't always work out, but it was the thought that counted, right?

Yayoi sighed again and leaned closer to Ishida. "Just go. We'll be here a while and you hate it when she talks to you while you read anyway."

"I… don't like going in there by myself. You know that." he whispered back before pulling a pale yellow strapless dress from the rack. He cocked his head to the side as he looked it over before he turned to Tomoe and thrust it at her.

"Try that. The color compliments your skin and hair."

Tomoe turned her scowl on him before looking down at the dress and scowling even harder. She snatched it out of his hands and walked over to the tall mirror near a makeshift dressing room, holding it up to her body and smoothing it against her.

"It's… pretty." she hedged, not wanting Ishida to feel too superior for having picked it out of a section she had already searched through.

Yayoi and Ishida both came up behind her and stood on either side. Before anything more could be said between the three someone spoke from behind them, startling them.

"Well if it ain't the little Kitty Cat."

Tomoe froze, eyes going wide as she searched in the mirror for the speaker. There was no way it could be who she thought it was though; it'd been _weeks_ since that incident. When she couldn't see the man who had spoken that way she turned slowly and came face to face with someone she never expected to see again. Narrowed icy blue eyes stared at her from behind overlong black bangs and the smile she had been greeted with the first time they had meet was long gone. She let out a breathy laugh and gave the man a half smile. His frown seemed to deepen.

"Excuse me, but I need ta borrow yer friend a moment." he said and Tomoe stuck her nose up in the air, tossing her hair back over her shoulder and dropping the dress to hang over her arm.

"Like hell. I'm not goin' anywhere with _you_." she said with a snort and a roll of her eyes.

The man took a step closer to the three and reached out, curling very thin, long fingers around Tomoe's upper arm before bending his tall frame to look her straight in the eyes. Yayoi's eyes widened at the menace on his face –partially reminded of Nnoitra for a moment– and Ishida felt himself backing away a little.

"You will." the man said before turning and yanking Tomoe out of the store.

Yayoi blinked after them, her mouth dropping open a bit before she turned to Ishida with a look of worry.

"Sh… should we follow her? He might be a bad guy."

Ishida shrugged. "This is Tomoe we're talking about here. She can handle whatever that guy wants."

Yayoi frowned at his seeming unconcern and looked back towards the front door. "But…."

Ishida sighed. "We'll give them a couple minutes and then follow." he said and Yayoi smiled.

"Okay."

Meanwhile, the man pulled Tomoe into the alley next to the thrift shop and pushed her up against the building, his hand still tight around her arm. He leaned forward, once more shoving his face in hers, and his lips peeled back in a sneer before he spoke again.

"Alrigh', Kitty Cat. Where is it?"

"I have no idea what yer talkin' about. And let go 'a me asshole." Tomoe glared back.

The man snorted loudly and shook her hard. "Ya little thief! Ya stole ma _wallet._"

Tomoe's eyes went wide with mock innocence and she laughed harshly. "Ha! Prove it." she said before kicking out and trying to catch the man in the shin, all the while her mind taking her back to the first time she had met him.

It had been about two weeks before and she had been in one of her bad moods again. They happened often but this time she had ended up storming off and leaving both Yayoi and Ishida in the middle of a convenience store. Yayoi had been gushing about Sorin's latest fight, going on and on about how well he moved in the boxing ring, and Tomoe had just snapped, yelling at Yayoi that she need to just tell Sorin how she felt or shut the hell up, before stomping off in a huff. She'd made it four blocks away before she had run out of steam and plopped herself down on a bench. And there she sat, pouting and irritated that no one had come after her yet. She hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings and didn't see the tall, thin man standing across the street from her, smoking a cigarette and eyeing her with a thoughtful look on his face. The man flicked his cigarette and stuck his hands in the pockets of his tight jeans before walking slowly, casually, across the street. Tomoe was grumbling to herself, arms crossed over her stomach and one leg bouncing with irritation.

"Stupid lovely-dovey idiots…. _Ruin_ my day…. Just fuck 'em and get it over with…."

The man smirked and leaned a thin hip against the side of the back of the bench.

"Aw, whazza matta, Kitty Cat? Someone step on yer tail?" his voice purred and Tomoe snorted loudly.

"Fuck off." she sneered and didn't bother looking to the side to see the face of the person who had interrupted her monologue of hate.

The man chuckled softly and grinned. "Oh, Kitty has claws."

Tomoe rolled her eyes. "No, _Kitty_ has a _knife_ so get lost."

She heard the sound of cloth rustling with movement and looked the opposite way from where the voice had come from. She didn't want to be bothered right then and she had thought she was doing a rather good job of projecting that air. Apparently she was either not very good at it or the man getting ready to sit on the bench next to her was a fucking moron. He threw his arm across the back of the bench and turned towards Tomoe, grinning widely as he looked her over.

"Why ya all 'lone and grumblin' to yerself, Kitty Cat?" he asked and Tomoe sighed loudly.

"Are you stupid?" she asked, turning abruptly and looking up at him for the first time.

She blinked a few times, dazzled by the smile and the sheer _size_ of the other man, before shaking herself and remembering that she was pissed off. The man just chuckled and settled into the bench, never taking his eyes off her.

"Mebe a little." he conceded and laughed at Tomoe's hard frown.

"I don't wanna talk to anyone so get lost." she said again and the man cocked his head to the side as he regarded her.

"Yer a pretty little ginger, Kitty Cat." he commented as if Tomoe hadn't spoken and she found herself struggling with the urge to blush and hit the man.

"Wha–"

"Hows 'bout ya let me getcha somethin' ta drink? Mebe some tea er somethin'?"

"Are… are you serious?" she asked incredulously and the man nodded.

He leaned forward, his eyes focusing on Tomoe's parted lips a moment before returning to dark blue eyes.

"Or mebe I c'n take ya somewheres we c'n… get some'a that 'gression outta ya?"

Tomoe's eyes widened and she leaned back a little. "You're a pervert!"

The man shrugged and didn't respond to her accusation.

"Mebe a little." he said after a long moment and licked his lips quickly. "Well?"

"No! Go away!"

He reached out, curling a finger under a shocked Tomoe's chin and leaned forward to place a tender but chaste kiss on her parted lips. Tomoe jerked back and reached blindly into her purse, pulling out the Taser Nnoitra had gotten her and ramming it into the man's gut, firing it quickly. His eyes went a little wide as his body went rigid as it jerked back and Tomoe jumped off the bench, breath coming out in heavy pants as she watched the tall, thin man slump and slip to the ground. She cleared her throat and looked around wildly, thankful that the street was empty, before stepping closer to the man and looking down at him.

"Asshole." she said after a short moment.

She reached down and pulled his wallet from his pocket, flipping it open and glaring at the picture on his ID before shoving it in her purse. She kicked him in the thigh and shook her hair out before walking confidentially away; back to her friends that were hopefully still waiting for her.

Until that day she had forgotten all about the incident but now that she was faced with the man that had stolen a kiss from her she wasn't quite sure how to react. He seemed a little too upset about it, at least in her opinion as she was already mostly over the event.

"I know ya god'it so giv'it back." he said and Tomoe rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But I don't exactly carry the fuckin' thing around with me." she cocked a hip and looked down at the hand still on her arm. "And you can let me the fuck go now. I still have that Taser on me."

The man twitched at that and finally let his hand drop from Tomoe's arm, eyeing her purse warily.

"I can bring it here tomorrow though. On my time, I ain't going outta my way for some grabby pervert."

He snorted and Tomoe jerked back when his hand shot out again and he pulled her purse from her shoulder, easily taking it from her grasp and stepping out of her reach.

"Hey!" Tomoe yelled and jumped at him to retrieve her stolen item.

He reached inside and pulled out a tiny pink wallet, grinning down at Tomoe as he shoved it in his shirt pocket and threw her purse in her face.

"Insurance." he said with a sneer before walking almost calmly away.

"Gimmie back my wallet!" Tomoe screamed and the man ignored her.

"Tomo, you okay?"

Tomoe turned and fixed wild, angry eyes on Yayoi who had appeared with Ishida behind her.

"No I'm not! That asshole stole my wallet."

Yayoi frowned and looked down the alley, seeing it empty save for over-piled garbage cans.

"That guy from before?"

"Where the hell were you two? Some guy drags me off an' you two just take yer sweet fuckin' time in helpin' me?"

Ishida shrugged. "You have multiple ways of protecting yourself. It didn't seem like a big issue."

Tomoe scowled hard at that, knowing that Ishida was right but not liking that one bit. Yayoi sighed and held out a plastic bag for Tomoe.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing we got the dress for you." she said in a quiet voice, looking up a bit apologetically at Tomoe.

Tomoe smiled, anger almost forgotten, and grabbed at the bag. "Really? Aww, thank you babe."

She hugged Yayoi tightly, lifting the smaller girl off the ground and twirling her around a few times before dropping her.

"I hope it fits."

"It will." Ishida said stiffly; it had been _him_ that had bought it after all. "Now can we go to the bookstore?"

"Uhg, fine." Tomoe said with a small grin as she slung her arm over Yayoi's shoulders and led her out of the alley.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Yayoi asked and Tomoe nodded.

"Yeah. Ya know…." Tomoe paused and looked back over her shoulder a moment. "That guy _was_ kinda cute."

Yayoi and Ishida both rolled their eyes and didn't bother commenting.

* * *

Taichi and Grimmjow were sitting uncomfortably in the living room, waiting for Ichigo to get home from work so that the three of them could talk. Taichi was refusing to look at Grimmjow and Grimmjow was desperately wishing he had a cigarette. He cleared his throat and sighed loudly.

"Did you take yer pill today with lunch?" Grimmjow asked and Taichi nodded.

"Yes. Thank you." he said quietly, still not looking at his father.

He couldn't believe that Grimmjow had asked for time off work so that he could stay home with him, but figured it was just another way to keep tabs on Taichi. It wasn't as if Taichi could go anywhere at that moment so he didn't understand why he needed to be watched so closely. And it was bugging the hell out of him how strange his father was acting towards him. It had been so long since they had exchanged pleasant words with each other in private that he had almost forgotten that he and Grimmjow used to sit up talking to each other about anything and everything all the time. Taichi frowned deeply at that thought and hugged his sore chest tighter, the stitches on his arm catching slightly and making him wince. Grimmjow scowled and jumped a little when the front door opened.

"You're late." he said loudly to cover how uncomfortable he was.

"Traffic. You two could have been talking without me, you know." Ichigo said as he slipped out of his shoes and walked into the living room.

"Yeah well Tai won't say more than two words to me without you around so how the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"I'm sitting right here." Taichi snapped and then smirked.

Ichigo sighed and sat on the couch near Taichi's propped up ankle. He looked at his son.

"I meant to tell you this yesterday, but we got the results for your HIV test back. Negative, but I want you to take one a month for the next three. Okay?"

Taichi grit his teeth and looked down into his lap, nodding stiffly. "Yeah."

Grimmjow's body tensed as Ichigo spoke and he reached up to rub a hand over his mouth so that he wouldn't say what he had been about to. He wasn't really that angry with Taichi in regards to what had put his son in the hospital. True, Taichi had been stupid and put himself in that situation but it didn't change that fact that someone had done horrible things to his first born son. No matter how upset he was with Taichi it didn't even come close to how badly he wanted to hurt the men that had done it to him.

"I want a description of those men." he said softly, looking up and meeting Taichi's soft brown eyes before the younger man looked away.

"I told you I don't really remember."

"Try harder."

"We'll talk about that later." Ichigo cut in, as eager as Grimmjow to find the people that hurt Taichi but wanting to move the conversation along before a fight broke out.

"Why did you do it Tai? Why did you leave? I understand that you were angry but that's no reason to run away."

Taichi rolled his eyes and sighed, looking away from both his fathers and letting the silence hang a moment before speaking softly.

"I'm tired of living in a house with a person who hates me and everything about me."

Grimmjow scoffed and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair.

"Taichi, your father doesn't hate you." Ichigo said and Taichi looked at him directly.

"Then why doesn't_ he_ defend himself? How come you have to say that and he just sits there looking pissed off?"

"Listen to me you little shit." Grimmjow started, leaning forward again and resting his elbows on his knees. "If I hated you I wouldn't have spent three days looking for you. If I hated you I wouldn't be this fucking mad at you right now."

"That's the same kind of talk as 'I hit you because I love you.'"

"No it's not, Tai." Ichigo put in, irritated.

"Whatever." Taichi turned his torso towards Grimmjow and looked at him with a tight frown on his face.

"If you would have paid attention to _anything _about me you would have known exactly where I was."

This wasn't entirely true and he knew it. Taichi was a fairly secretive person when it came to his private life and he had only ever once told his parents about going to Nichome with Daisuke. And he had been promptly grounded for going without permission.

"What the fuck do you want me to do?" Grimmjow shouted and stood. "Follow you around asking questions and making sure I know every damn detail about you?"

"Grimmjow sit down."

"No, but it would be nice to know that you _care_ about anything I did instead of focusing all your attention on _Sorin_."

"Oh here we go again." Grimmjow threw his hands up in the air and took a few steps away from his chair.

"Yes, tragic how I have to point out that you favor one of your children over the others." Taichi sneered and looked away from Grimmjow again.

Ichigo sighed loudly and hung his head. This was pointless. He reached for his wallet and opened it, pulling out the card that Shinji had handed him earlier that day and shook his head. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea to send the both of them into counseling.

"I… have something for the two of you to think about." he started, watching both Taichi and Grimmjow tense. He set the card on the table and stood.

"What is that?" Taichi asked, frowning at the card too far away to read.

"It's the number for a therapist–"

"Why do we need therapy?" Grimmjow asked incredulously and Ichigo clenched his teeth.

"We don't need therapy." Taichi rolled his eyes.

"You both are idiots and yes you do. I'm making an appointment and _you both will go_. Is that clear?" he raised his voice as he snapped the words out, silencing both men in the room.

"Now you," he continued, pointing at Taichi. "Go to your room and wait for dinner. And you!" Ichigo pointed a long finger at Grimmjow and scowled. "Go get me some chicken because we're out."

Grimmjow rolled his eyes and left the room and Taichi stood to struggle back to his own. Ichigo shook himself and sighed before stomping to the kitchen to start dinner, grumbling the entire time about the stubborn men in his life.

* * *

A/N YAY~! Another chapter :D And YAY more OCs~ *giggles* You'll find out more about this dark haired stranger soon, don't worry. And OMG what have you been up to Tai? Yeah, you'll find out more about that as well~ So productive lately, I'm loving this. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this update and I'll try to update as soon as I can~~

~Penny


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Yayoi set her plate in the sink and sighed, looking back over her shoulder to see her father feed Nnoitra a piece of chicken from between his teeth. She smirked and shook her head, turning back towards the sink and turning on the tap to rinse the dish before she set it in the dishwasher. Most children would have been disgusted with overt displays of affection from their parents but she thought it was adorable. Very few people got to see Nnoitra the way she did; sweet, loving and gentle. She felt privileged to be one of those few to see his more tender side. And her father? Shinji was always so relaxed and happy and beyond well loved. They really were a very loving family, the three of them. The only down side? She was so very envious of their love for each other. She could only hope that one day she would be worthy of the kind of love they had found in each other.

"Oh, Yo-chan honey, didja get that book from yer oba-chan yet?" Shinji asked as he started to pull things off the table to put away for the night.

Yayoi frowned as she tried to remember what her father was talking about. Was she supposed to get something last time she was visiting her oba-chan?

"Uhm… what book, oto-chan?"

"Hmm? She said she had a book for ya. Must've fergot." he said thoughtfully, trying to make a mental note to remind his mother about it later.

"Nnoi-chan, finish your vegetables." Yayoi called out, not having to look behind her to see that Nnoitra was trying to push them back onto the serving dishes they had come from.

"I don't need ya motherin' me." he grumbled but stopped his actions and popped a piece of broccoli into his mouth with a grimace.

Yayoi smirked and set the rinsed plate inside the dishwasher before walking over to her second father to kiss his cheek. Nnoitra made a show of distaste before wrapping a long arm around Yayoi's waist and pulling her into his lap; ignoring her small squeak of protest. He kissed the top of her head and smiled devilishly.

"How 'bout we got watch TV while yer oto-chan cleans this shit up?"

Yayoi giggled. "Okay!"

Shinji's mouth dropped open a little and he shook his head. "Sounds like a mutiny to me."

Yayoi nodded. "But we still love you."

Shinji snorted and walked back to the table to finish clearing it, shooting a small, amused glance at Nnoitra when he stood and threw Yayoi over his shoulder, the young girl giggling like mad the entire time. One would never have guessed that nearly eighteen years ago the man had been afraid to even be in the same room as Yayoi. As Shinji finished cleaning up Nnoitra and Yayoi settled on the couch and began flipping through channels, arguing over what to watch. Nnoitra wanted to watch his favorite crime drama; the thugs always made him laugh at how unrealistically they were portrayed. Yayoi wanted to watch a documentary about the plight of the dolphins.

"I ain't watchin' a fuckin' docu–"

"Language." Yayoi grinned, cocking an eyebrow at Nnoitra and he curled his lip at her.

"I won't cuss fer the rest 'a the night if we gett'a watch my show." he bargained and Yayoi giggled.

"Deal." When Nnoitra grinned and gratefully changed the channel back to what he wanted to watch Yayoi continued. "But I want a foot rub 'cuz I was supposed to watch that documentary for school."

Nnoitra stopped, frowned, and hung his head before nodding curtly. "Fine."

The both of them heard Shinji giggle from the kitchen and Yayoi set her small feet in Nnoitra's lap.

"Love you Nnoi-chan."

"Yeah, yeah, hush. That dude's about to get shot for bein' a… idiot." he caught himself.

Two hours of shooting and violence later –Nnoitra rewinding the show to play certain parts a few times so he could get his fill– and Yayoi kissed her fathers good night and trotted up the stairs to her bedroom. She changed quickly into her night dress and slipped onto her desk chair, flipping open her laptop to check her email before bed. When she saw that Ishida was still online she contacted him through IM.

_yochan5: studying?_

Ishida's reply was almost instant:

_sora721947: I had that dream again. About Kurosaki._

_yochan5: Same as always?_

_sora721947: Yes_

Yayoi sighed and leaned back in her chair. Ishida was rather sensitive about his dreams and believed that everything held some sort of higher meaning. Any time he dreamed of one of his friends or someone he knew, he would spend days analyzing and inspecting any and all possible meanings behind it. Ishida had been having the same dream about Taichi off and on for a year now and every time he did he would be upset for days afterward.

_yochan5: Well that doesn't really mean anything. We were talking about him today a bit._

_sora721947: …_

_sora721947: It doesn't matter. I still have the dream when we don't talk about him._

_yochan5: Then maybe you should talk to him about it._

_sora721947: Don't be stupid. I can't talk to him about this. I don't even know him._

_yochan5: Just go to sleep and we'll talk more about it tomorrow._

_sora721947: Like I'll be able to sleep now._

Ishida signed off after that and Yayoi sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing at them with her thumb and forefinger. Ishida was such an emotional person sometimes that she was often left exhausted after speaking to him. But, since she was the only person in the entire world he could talk to about things like this –not to mention the fact that she counted him as one of her best friends– she would never turn him away. After finishing up on the computer she switched it off and crawled into bed, drifting quickly off.

* * *

Three days later Taichi was sitting in a small waiting room with Grimmjow feeling acutely awkward. He didn't want to be there and he knew that Grimmjow didn't either but they had gone when Ichigo had made the appointment for them. The only consolation at that moment was the fact that this was just a preliminary appointment for the shrink to assess where and how much help they would need. Taichi spared a glance at his father and sighed before looking quickly away again. This was so stupid. He didn't need therapy. He needed to get the hell out of that house so he could start living his life in peace; so he could be the real Taichi without fear of ridicule in his own home.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques, Mr. Kurosaki? Mr. Urahara will see you now." the small quiet woman behind the reception desk called out and pointed toward a door off to the right.

Grimmjow sighed loudly and pushed hard out of the chair he had been seated in. "Let's get this over with." he grumbled as he walked purposefully across the small room.

Taichi eyed the greying blond man sitting comfortably in a lush cushioned chair warily as he took a seat on a small couch next to his father. They didn't have much choice in where they were to sit but he was still irritated to have to be so close to the man. It didn't help that he had neglected to take anything for the now dull throb of pain that radiated throughout his torso. Everything else felt fine on him so far but his ribs still hurt nearly as bad as they had the day after he had gotten home from the hospital; the bruise still as dark and nasty looking as it had been when he had woken up the next day. The blond man simply smiled at them with his hands clasped in his lap, as if waiting for one of them to speak first. Grimmjow, of course, was the first to break the heavy silence.

"So… what? You just gonna stare at us? I'm not paying for that shit."

The blond chuckled and shook his head. "A wonderful ice breaker." he commented before reaching for a small pad of paper.

"My name is Kisuke Urahara, it's a pleasure to meet you both. I suppose we can start off with a few questions. That would be something worth paying for, yes?"

Grimmjow scowled and Taichi felt his lips twitch. If this man felt comfortable giving his father shit like that he might not be so bad after all.

"Okay, first off, why don't you tell me why you think you're here, Taichi. May I call you that?"

Taichi nodded and sighed. "I'm here because my dad made me."

Urahara nodded and set his pen to the pad of paper. "Any other reasons?"

Taichi shrugged and didn't reply so Urahara switched his attention to the older man in the room.

"And you, Mr. Jaegerjaques. Why do you think you're here?"

"Because my boyfriend made me." Grimmjow said flatly, arms crossed in a hostile fashion over his chest.

"Ah. I see." Urahara nodded and continued to scribble on his pad of paper.

"Would it be alright to speak with you separately a moment?" he asked, making both blue haired men frown at him.

"Why?" Grimmjow asked and Urahara smiled at him.

"Well some people are afraid to open up with others in the room. This would give you both a chance to speak candidly with me without fear of the other party getting upset." Grimmjow grunted and Taichi sighed. "Good. Since Taichi is injured and it would take more effort for him to leave and then come back, I would like to speak with him alone first, if you please."

"…stupid." Grimmjow muttered and stood quickly to leave the room.

The moment the door was closed Urahara noticed some of the tension leave Taichi's shoulders and made a note of it.

'Why don't you tell me again why you think you're here today, Taichi." he said in an even and pleasant tone.

Taichi shrugged again and sighed. "Could be too many reasons to count."

"Well, we have about an hour. And your father _is_ paying me to listen to you…."

Taichi chuckled a little and shook his head. "How about my relationship with my dad sucks? I can't be myself at home, or anywhere really. I just got the crap beaten out of my because I was so eager to get away from, and stay away from, that man. I'm a failure at taking care of myself…." Taichi stopped, sticking the end of his pinky between his teeth and shook himself a little, tracing patterns in the carpet with the toe of his shoe.

"I think my Chichi wants me here because I was raped though. He probably thinks it's some big deal when it really isn't." he said around the digit.

Urahara remained quiet through this, watching Taichi's body language as the young man spoke, noting the nervous habit of chewing on his finger and recording it in his memory as well as on paper.

"You don't think the rape affected you much?" he asked quietly.

"Not really. I'm more… pissed off that I let it happen than anything. It could have been completely avoided but I wasn't thinking straight and…." Taichi stopped and worried at his finger more.

"We'll come to that later. Tell me about your father."

"He's an asshole." Taichi replied heatedly, crossing his arms defensively over his chest and scowling at the carpet. Urahara's eyes narrowed a bit at that.

"Care to elaborate a bit further?"

Taichi shook his head and tightened his arms around himself. The blond man scribbled out a few more notes and decided to change the subject again.

"You said that you can't be yourself at home. Can you expand on that?"

"What's to expand on? I just can't be completely comfortable at home. I can't just…." Taichi dropped his arms to the couch and looked up at Urahara, their eyes meeting and locking. Kisuke's eyes narrowed fractionally at the sadness he saw reflected in those soft brown eyes.

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore." Taichi said quietly.

Urahara smiled gently and nodded, setting his pen on the tablet and leaning back in his seat. This young man in front of him had a lot more issues than he let himself believe and Urahara knew that it was going to take careful time and effort to get this one to open up to him.

"Very well. Why don't you send your father in then and we'll talk more at our next visit."

* * *

Tomoe waited in the small alley next to the thrift store she had run into the man she had stolen from and sighed, checking the time on her phone for the millionth time since she had gotten there; only five minutes had passed. Sure she was three days late in bringing the item she was supposed to return but he should have been waiting for her. At least that's how _she _thought it should be. She tugged at her short skirt a little and leaned back against the outside wall, reaching up to pull her fingers through her long, dark orange hair.

"Yer a bit fuckin' late, Kitty Cat."

Tomoe jumped at the rough voice and looked up, watching the tall, thin man approach her with a swagger in his step. He was dressed all in black, his pale face almost bright as the sun caught it before he hit the shadows of the alley. She caught sight of a straight nose, thin lips and narrowed, ice blue eyesbefore darkness obscured them again.

"I said I'd be here on my own time." she replied and tossed her hair back over her shoulder.

She held up the man's wallet and smirked at him. "Where's mine."

He stopped a few paces away from her and reached into his back pocket, pulling the small pink wallet out and mirroring Tomoe's stance.

"Righ' here, Kitty Cat."

"Good, toss it here and we can pretend this never happened."

"No'so fas', Kitty Cat. I wann'a bit more payback then jus' getin' ma wallet back." The man took a step closer to Tomoe and reached for the hem of his shirt.

Tomoe's body stiffened and she watched his movements carefully. If he had a gun under his shirt she was fucked and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it right then. Running from a gun when the gunman was this close was suicide and she knew it. But daddy wouldn't let her carry one of her own and uncle Nnoi had flat out refused when she had asked him for one.

"Yeah, we give ya a gun andja go off shootin' happy an' end up in prison." had been his comment between his laughter and it still pissed her off. Surely she would be able to refrian from _killing_ people for real. Right?

When the shirt continued to lift Tomoe swallowed a little and frowned. There was a large geometric shape –a marigold– tattooed below the man's navel and she found her head cocking to the side as he continued to slowly reveal himself. She saw the blades of what she could only assume where two swords on either side of the marigold and licked her lips before a bright red burn mark appeared. She winced when she saw that, knowing exactly where _that_ had come from.

"Yeah." he said, cocking his own head to the side. "Ya marked me, Kitty Cat. I think ya owe me a bit fer that."

"C-che. You deserved it." she muttered and looked reluctantly back up into his eyes. "Now gimmie back my wallet and you can have yers back."

"Naw. Ya c'n have yers back when ya gimmie extra paymen' fer the mark." The man reached out quickly and snatched his own wallet out of Tomoe's hand holding it far out of her reached when she jumped after it.

"That's bullshit!"

She stopped abruptly when she ended up smacking into his hard chest and when she tried to pull back from him he followed, backing her into the wall again and caging her in with his hands against the brick on either side of her head. His eyes narrowed to slits as he leaned forward and stuck his face in hers, the scent of tobacco and soap stinging her nostrils and causing what would have been an almost pleasant stirring in her belly if it hadn't been for the sudden onset of nervousness. This man oozed danger at the moment and she started to think she had finally gotten herself in over her head. She swallowed hard and lifted her chin a bit as she stared haughtily back at him. She hadn't really realized just how tall he was until he was looming over her like he was right then and a part of her wanted to run away screaming like the girl she really was.

"Wazza matta, Kitty Cat? All yer bite done gone 'way now." His voice was low and darkly playful, sending a shiver of both apprehension and anticipation over Tomoe's skin.

"Just gimmie my wallet so I can go." she said quietly, hating that she sounded a little weak in front of this man.

"Pay me back fer markin' me up, an' I might jus' think 'bout it." he muttered just as quietly.

Tomoe's eyebrows pulled together and her lips pulled down into a frown.

"W… what do you want?"

The man smirked, triumph lighting in his eyes, and continued to speak softly; like he was talking to a frightened kitten.

"Ma wallet feels a bit lighter than it should be. I know 'xactly how much waz in thar, so I'm thinkin' I might need ta put ya ta werk."

Tomoe frowned harder. "I don't…." she shook her head.

"Gotta job only a li'l Kitty c'n do." he pushed forward and bumped his nose against Tomoe's grinning when she sucked in a breath and stiffened, pulling herself back into the wall in a futile attempt to get away from him.

"Lucky fer ya I don' live far."

Tomoe's eyes widened and she reached up, placing her hands in the middle of the man's chest and pushing with all her might.

"Oh fuck you. I am _not–_"

"Ain't nuthin' sex'al." he interrupted before pulling back of his own free will, Tomoe's pushing having had little to no effect on him.

Tomoe scowled and then rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. I'm totally gonna fall for that." she commented sarcastically.

"Don' matta if ya fall fer it 'er not." he said, grabbing one of her wrists tightly and taking another step backwards. "Toldja I don' live far. I'll drag ya thar if I hafta."

"H-hey! You can't do that!" Tomoe yanked her arm back and scowled when his grip only tightened and he started to pull her down the alley.

"Let me the fuck go!" she screamed and he stopped, turning around to look down at her with a frown.

The next thing Tomoe knew a large hand was thrust over her mouth and she was lifted off the ground, an arm like a vise wrapped around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides. _Fuck_, she thought darkly as she kicked out and did her best to struggle against the man's hold, _I'm so dead_.

* * *

Sorin wrapped a towel around his waist as soon as he stepped out of the shower and made his way over to his locker so he could change back into his street clothes. The new guy in the boxing club was damn good and Sorin had walked away from their fight with a nice little cut on his cheek and a bruise on his side he was going to feel for days. And he felt amazing. He wasn't the best at what he did by any means, but he knew he was good enough to beat most of the guys at his school. It was something he was quite proud of really. To have this freshman come in and actually land a few good punches on him had made his nerves tingle and beg for more. Unfortunately coach always stopped a fight the moment blood was shed and the two of them had been told to shower and head home for the day.

He dressed slowly, in no hurry to get home but completely unsure about what he wanted to do otherwise. He was pretty sure all of his friends were busy with their own clubs and activities and the guys he hung out with during boxing had gotten in trouble and been sent out to do fifty laps around the track. Sorin hated being alone because he always ended up thinking too much about things he had no business thinking about in the first place. Like what was going on with his brother and his dad. And the way his sister was far too open around other men. And the way Yayoi looked when she cried. Sorin shook his head and slipped his shirt over his head. That was a stupid thought. He had no business remembering that embarrassing moment no matter how pretty Yayoi's eyes looked with tears in them.

He shook his head again and muttered, "Idiot." under his breath before stepping into his shoes and grabbing his bag from the locker. Everyone would kill him if they found out he had feelings for her and he was almost certain that she thought he was weird. She never looked twice at him that he had ever noticed and he wasn't very good at holding a conversation with her. But _God_, she was so pretty and small and funny and every time he saw her he felt like his stomach was trying to detach itself and fly away. He got all nervous when they were alone, trying desperately to figure out what to say but make it sound _normal_ that he ended up saying the exact _wrong_ thing and then the mood got even weirder between them. Sorin's shoulders sagged just thinking about it and he threw his bag back over his shoulder before walking swiftly from the locker room.

There was a girl waiting outside, probably for one of the other boxers he thought, picking the petals free from a flower and humming softly to herself. She looked up the moment he exited and frowned at him, pushing away from the building and approaching him. Sorin, confused because he didn't recognize her straight away, gave her a half frown, half smile as he tried to maneuver around her.

"Why are you avoiding me?" she asked and Sorin stopped, scowling down at her a moment before speaking.

"Huh?"

"I said, 'Why are you avoiding me?' I _am_ your girlfriend, aren't I?" she cocked a hip and looked back at him expectantly.

"Girlfriend?" Sorin blinked confusedly. "I don't have a girlfriend."

Suddenly pain was blossoming and heating his cheek and the girl continued to stare up at him with narrowed, tear filled eyes. He blinked a few times before she stomped on his foot and ran away. Sorin watched her go, lifting his foot off the ground to shake it a few times as if to kick off the sore spot on the arch. What the hell had that been about? He wondered to himself before shaking his head and half limping to the bus stop. He reached up and rubbed at his cheek –she had slapped him right across the cut– wincing when he accidentally pulled the small wound open again. When had he gotten a girlfriend?

"Sorin!" Yayoi called out in surprise and waved when she noticed him approaching the bus stop.

He looked up sharply and grinned crookedly, picking up his pace a little unconsciously to get to her faster. Yayoi realized she was still waving and dropped her arm quickly to her side, rolling her eyes at herself. _God, Yo. Can you look any more desperate?_

"Hey." Sorin said as soon as he was close enough, still grinning and now rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Why aren't you with my sister or that little guy?"

"Ishida is not that small, Sorin." Yayoi said, then giggled and looked away. "And Tomo has a club or something."

It was then she noticed the scratch on his face that was starting to bleed again and was surrounded by a nice big red mark, and she frowned, pointing at it. "What happened?"

Sorin's eyebrows rose as he tried to think about what she meant, losing himself in her sky blue eyes a moment before shaking himself and blinking rapidly.

"Oh, this? New guy got me during practice today. He's pretty good."

"Oh, boxing then?" Yayoi asked, sighing. Sorin looked so cool in the ring, shoulders hunched and gloved fists at the ready.

"Yeah."

Just then a rock came flying out of nowhere and hit Sorin in the shoulder. He winced and turned, catching sight of the girl he had been apparently dating until just a few moments ago.

"Pig!" she screamed before stomping off, a gaggle of her friends clucking behind her.

"Wasn't that your girlfriend?" Yayoi asked curiously, frowning after the girl.

"Yeah. I mean… no. She kinda just dumped me." he sighed.

"Why?"

"I, uh… kinda forgot we were dating."

Yayoi froze and blinked up at him blankly a moment before bursting out in laughter, bending over slightly and clutching at her middle. Sorin's lips twitched at her mirth and he shook his head.

"I don't think that's supposed to be funny, Yayoi." he said quietly, trying not to laugh himself. Yayoi's laugh was highly contagious and completely adorable.

"I know." she giggled and stood up a little straighter to turn her wide Cheshire grin on Sorin.

He couldn't help but smile at that and felt himself start to laugh along with her. He wanted to reach out and touch her, casually of course he wasn't some pervert who'd sully Yayoi's good name in public, but they were too soon interrupted.

"What's so funny?"

Yayoi turned towards Ishida as he approached, still smiling and giggling and the other young man gave her a crooked smile in return. Sorin frowned at that, never quite sure what was going on between those two, and stopped laughing.

"Nothing. Sorin's just silly, that's all." Yayoi said.

"Oh." Ishida said noncommittally and spared Sorin a glance before he reached into his pocket and handed Yayoi something.

Sorin couldn't see what it was but he was more than a little irritated when Yayoi squealed and threw her arms around Ishida's neck, squeezing tightly before pulling away to examine what she had just been given.

"Oh my God_, _where did you find it?" she asked and Ishida smoothed out his now wrinkled shirt.

"It was under my bed for some reason. Stop losing things at my house."

Yayoi ignored his comment and Sorin moved to look over her shoulder to see what she was so excited about. Whatever it was though was quickly put out of sight and Sorin continued to frown, though he did manage to turn it away from the two now talking gaily beside him as if he weren't there. He was completely uncomfortable now, feeling as if he were eavesdropping in plain sight and not really understanding anything they were talking about. Something to do with accounting and business plans and renovations…. He knew Yayoi was smart but when she started talking numbers and statistics he was completely lost. Not so, apparently, with Ishida. The young man actually joined in the conversation with his own input; his own set of numbers and big words Sorin didn't understand. He scowled and hitched his bag up higher on his shoulder.

"Hey, uh… I'll see ya." he muttered and turned to leave, thinking that Yayoi was so busy she probably wouldn't even notice that he was gone.

"But… don't you need to catch this bus?" Yayoi asked, stopping in the middle of her conversation and turning to face him.

He shrugged and ran a hand back through his hair. "I'll catch the next one. I forgot some things back in the locker room anyway."

"Oh…. Okay then. See you later." Yayoi said quietly and Sorin caught Ishida rolling his eyes.

With a darker scowl, something that surprised Yayoi enough for it to show on her face, Sorin turned on his heel and left the two to their conversation. As soon as he was gone Yayoi's shoulders sagged and she frowned sadly at the sidewalk.

"I thought we'd be able to ride the bus together for a bit." she said quietly.

Ishida placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and patted it.

"Face it; we're both head over heels in love with idiots." _he_ knew why Sorin had left, it wasn't hard to guess really, but Yayoi was apparently permanently in the dark about that young man.

Yayoi snorted and rolled her eyes, turning to push playfully at Ishida.

"Don't be mean." she said quietly before sighing and returning to their interrupted conversation.

* * *

A/N YAY! OMG it feels so good to be writing like this again. Kind of a shorter chapter than normal but it was a joy to write ;p I hope you all enjoyed the little look into the Hirako/Jiruga household. Nnoi's so freakin' cute sometimes ;p And Tai... Ijust wanna hug him and rock him and make him smile :( Tomoe, Tomoe, Tomoe. *smh* Idiot. Really... *shakes head again* And as for YOU Sorin *giggle* You're an idiot to but in a much cuter way ;p

Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and thank you again for supporting this story. I'll be rereading BD before I post again for it so it may be a bit before you see that one. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything and it never hurts to brush up on things. Anywho~ For those of you with y!gallery accounts Mistress P's FC now has a naughty branch and is accepting porn and naked men all the time. Feel free, if you're 18 or older, to stop by and check it out or even add to the growing gallery.

Ta Duckies~~

~Penny

**OH! I almost forgot. ANYONE that can tell me what those numbers after Ishida's screen name mean gets a shout out in the next chapter's A/N Good luck!**


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

He kicked in the door –it never latched properly unless he locked it– and turned around to walk through it backwards so that the girl in his arms wouldn't be able to brace her feet on either side like she had downstairs. From the looks of it she had nice, strong legs and he really wasn't in the mood to fight her; again. The minute he was completely inside the apartment he turned around and dumped the still kicking girl on the floor, turning back around to slam the door shut with the flat of his hand.

"You asshole!" Tomoe screamed as she scrambled off the floor and turned towards him, preparing to lunge; orange hair like wildfire from her struggles and dark blue eyes wide with her rage.

His left eye twitched in irritation and he reached out, tangling his fingers in the back of that hair and whipping her around to throw her back against the door with a dull but loud thud. Tomoe reached up and grabbed at his hand and he curled his fingers, tightening his grip and yanking her head backwards a bit. She cried out and grit her teeth at the lightning strike of pain that flashed through the nerve endings in her scalp and shot straight down to her pink painted toenails.

"I ain't in tha bes' 'a moods, Kitty Cat, so I'd shut it if I were ya." he hissed, face close and teeth bared. Tomoe stopped moving, glaring her anger up at him instead through the unbidden tears that had sprung to her eyes as several hairs were pulled free at once.

"I'm bettin' ya got an idea how much money waz in tha' walle' and I ain't lettin' ya go till ya pay me back. 'Waz ma rent money ya went and spen' and now tha only way I getta stay here in this fiiiine little _shithole_ is if I clean it up." the man continued, his voice still deep and menacing but somehow not as heated as moments before.

Tomoe blinked back the tears as he spoke and her eyes darted to the parts of the room she could see around his body. The place was small, the room beyond the front door full to the brim with furniture and trash and God knew what else. The couch, if it could be called that, had its back facing to door, the material used to cover it slashed and ripped in several places and gapping in others. There was a TV on a short stand in front of the couch, a hole through the screen and glass littering the carpet in front of it. Dark sheets covered the window, held up with thumbtacks and partially pulled down on one side. Tomoe wrinkled her nose, catching a whiff of something far from pleasant and she shook her head as best as she could with the man's hand still pulling her hair tight.

"No way! I'm _not_–"

The man yanked on her hair harder and she hissed, closing her eyes tightly as she reached up with her other hand to the fist he held there.

"Ya ain't got much'a choice, Kitty Cat. Y'ain't leavin' till it's fuckin' clean." The man leaned in close to Tomoe, the tip of his nose brushing hers and the heat of his breath wafting across her lips and chin. His breath smelled like tobacco and something sweet and she couldn't begin to fathom the feeling rolling through her stomach at it.

Tomoe glared at him and fought the urge to spit in his face, resisting only because she wasn't so sure this man held the morals not to hit a lady. "I am _not_ cleaning this whole place for that tiny bit of money. One room and we're even, got it?" she bargained, her brain working fast but seeing no real way out of this. Maybe if she worked fast she could be out and gone from that place before it got dark and she'd never have to see his stupid face again.

The man smirked, his demeanor changing almost dramatically, and pulled back, letting go of Tomoe's hair and grabbing her forearm as he dragged her to the small kitchen the apartment boasted. He pointed at the dishes piling the sink and counters and grinned.

"Aight then, clean this up an' we're green, Kitty Cat." he said, thinking that this was probably the room he wanted to clean the least.

Tomoe's eyes widened in disgusted horror at what greeted her there, now wishing that he had suggested the living room instead of this… mess. She wrinkled her nose again and frowned deeply.

"Ew! What are you an _animal_?" She put a hand over her mouth and shook her head as she turned to leave the enclosed kitchen.

A long, thin arm shot out and a hand slapped into the wall before Tomoe could get far. "Now, now, Kitty Cat. We have a deal an' ya already gone an' 'greed to it. Can' be backin' out now."

Pale blue and dark blue eyes met –defiance and dare– and Tomoe sneered, taking a step back and spitting fire from her eyes as she did so. "Fine." she said between clenched teeth and turned back around to face the kitchen again.

She stopped and stared at the mess; the dishes crowding sink and counter, trash overflowing from the bin, recyclables not even sorted out of it. There were bits of trash and old food on the floor around the bin, something had once spilled in front of the refrigerator and it was very obvious no one had bothered to clean it up. Dirt and hair clung to the sticky mess and Tomoe fought the urge to vomit, placing a hand over her mouth briefly before forcing it to drop. This man was _disgusting_! A tall, skinny, disgusting _asshole._ Steeling herself with a set of squared shoulders and a head held high –Tomoe Kurosaki-Jaegerjaques would _not_ run from something like this– she took a deep breath and moved forward into the kitchen, carefully avoiding stepping on anything and whining quietly to herself.

The man watched her with an amused smirk on his face, leaning his long, boney frame against the wall as she tip toed around the kitchen and gingerly started organizing the mess so she could actually start cleaning it. He felt bad –okay maybe he didn't feel _bad_, bad, but he knew he _should_ at least a little– for making the girl think this was his apartment, that he lived like a disgusting pig and that if he didn't clean this up he'd be left homeless and it was somehow all her fault. The truth was he lived down the short hallway from this room and had been put in charge of making in rentable again by his landlady. He _was_ late on rent because of this girl though and that was the reason she was up here doing _his _job.

"Uhg… don't you have any _gloves_ or something? If I get a staph infection because of this there _will_ be hell to pay." Tomoe grumbled as she tentatively stacked filthy dishes using only the very tips of her fingers.

The man snorted and shook his head. "Ain't got non'a those, Kitty Cat." he said in a low voice and Tomoe made a sound of complete disgust from deep in her throat before fighting back a gag.

The man left the kitchen to sit in the living room, lighting up a cigarette as he sank down into the broken, old couch. He could hear the clanking and cracking of dishes in the kitchen, the soft, not so feminine curses coming from a pouty lipped mouth, and he smiled a little at it all; entertained for the moment. Sure he was still pissed off about having his wallet stolen by the little minx, he was upset that it had been emptied before it had been returned as well, but right then he was content to sit, listen and enjoy the sounds of frustration and anger the girl made. Other people's misery always made him a happy man. He took another long drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke up at the ceiling, closing his eyes and taking a moment to himself while he could.

Five minutes later that "moment" was shattered by a blood curdling scream and the tall girl with the wildfire hair came running out of the kitchen like it was about to explode. The man looked back at her from over his shoulder and Tomoe, panting and on the verge of tears, pointed back at the kitchen, her chin trembling as she held back a sob. He raised his eyebrows at her, seemingly not affected by her plight, and waited to see if she was actually going to say why the hell she had just ruined his relaxation. Tomoe's arm trembled and she moved to press herself against a dirty wall before finally opening her mouth and letting the words slip free.

"C-coackroach." And then the tears came.

* * *

Tomoe broke curfew that night by five minutes and Grimmjow was livid; so angry with her he was practically red in the face. Ichigo wasn't much better but he was far quieter than his long-time lover. He told Tomoe in no uncertain terms that she was grounded until he saw fit to remove that restriction and she was instructed to go to her room immediately. Tomoe, surprisingly docile, just nodded her head and made her way silently to her bedroom. On the way home she had had time to cool off after what had happened that day and she realized that she might have handled things a little… badly. As she flopped on her bed, feeling the dirtiest and most disgusting she had in her entire life, she stared at her ceiling and wished she could go back in time. Maybe if she had never taken his wallet… maybe if she had never left the house… maybe if she could control her impulses a bit more…. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Tomoe scowled hard and growled, sitting up and grabbing the first thing she could reach before hurling it across the room, flinching when it struck the wall and fell with a flop to the floor. She stared at the thing –a book she realized then– and sighed deeply before throwing herself back down on her bed.

"Fucking moron, Tomo." she whispered to herself and closed her eyes.

* * *

Yayoi walked into her grandmother's house after a single knock, calling out to anyone that was home to alert them of her presence. When no one answered her back she frowned and made her way down to the basement to see if her obaa-chan was working on a new art project or something. Shinji had told her to stop by after school that morning to pick up this elusive book that he kept talking about and Yayoi had been a good girl, like always, and done as she was told. She found the basement empty and sighed, making her way back up the stairs and turning down the hallway to what used to be both her father and her mother's bedroom. It was now her grandfather's designated space; a place to relax, nap and play the video games he still played with Nnoitra on occasion. Yayoi stood outside the closed door and knocked, waiting for someone to answer and sighing again when it remained quiet. She lowered her hand to the knob on the door, turning it and pushing it in as she called out again.

"Ojii-chan?" Yayoi said quietly and waited for an answer that didn't come.

Yayoi's shoulders sagged a little and she pushed the door open all the way, stepping inside the room and flipping on the light to see if maybe the man was just sleeping on the couch as he so often did, and finding the room completely devoid of life.

"Idiot…." she shook her head, thinking that the man had probably gotten stoned and left to get munchies, leaving the front door unlocked for just anyone to walk right inside and take what they pleased. Her grandparents may have lived in a nice neighborhood but that had never deterred criminals before; if anything it made the prospect all the more thrilling and fruitful.

As she turned to leave the room she saw Starrk's not so hidden herbal stash sitting on a table nearby and she shook her head again, staring at it for a moment before her inner neat freak got the better of her and she moved forward to put the stuff away. She was in the middle of squatting down to slip the items in their designated cupboard next to the TV when a voice from the door startled her and nearly made her drop everything.

"Your father would kill me if he saw what you were touching." a tired and slightly bored sounding voice said and Yayoi turned to see Starrk standing in the doorway to the room.

"It's not like I'm _doing _anything with it." she said, finishing what she was doing and standing, smoothing out her knee length, pleated grey skirt before smiling up at her grandfather.

Starrk let out a small, quiet snort, and moved into the room, setting down a bag of goodies on his old bowed out couch he'd moved from his apartment to Etta's house they day they decided to live together. Yayoi waited until it was out of his hands before she rushed forward and gave the man a tight squeeze around his middle. Starrk chuckled and hugged her back before moving out of her arms to sit gratefully on the couch; groaning like an old man.

"Be a doll and bring me all that stuff you just put away, Yo-chan. Ojii-chan had a long morning."

Yayoi frowned and shook her head. "Oto-chan would kill you faster if he heard you say that too." she said before doing what was asked of her.

Starrk nodded and reached in the bag, grabbing out a chocolate bar and holding it out for Yayoi with a smile. Yayoi stood and turned, smirking at the chocolate as she set the items on the small coffee table.

"Bribery?" she asked with a cocked, black eyebrow and Starrk chuckled again.

"Caught me." he said on a sigh and sat forward to prepare his pipe for a good smoke.

"Did you need something, doll?" he asked, looking up at her with tired eyes.

Yayoi watched him work, fascinated by the process more than she knew she should be, and nodded.

"Obaa-chan is supposed to have some book for me…." she trailed off as he set the pipe aside and frowned at her.

"Oh yeah." Starrk yawned and stood, turning to walk out of the room without another word.

Yayoi frowned after him, used to the way the man was but still wondering if he meant for her to follow him. She looked back at the table and the things left there before she bent to grab a few items and decided to follow after him anyway. She found him in the living room, pulling a thick book from the shelf and turning to hand it off to her. She smiled when she realized that it was a book on statistics and looked up at Starrk, thanking him. Starrk only nodded and yawned before patting her head and walking back towards him room again.

"Need a ride home?" he asked absently as he walked away.

Yayoi shook her head and hugged the book to her chest. "No it's okay. I have reading material for the train."

Starrk grunted, told her to be safe and waved her off as she left the house again. Book in hand, Yayoi walked quickly to the train station and hopped on the one that would take her to see Tomoe. She hadn't heard or seen much of her best friend since Tomoe had told her she was going to return that man's wallet and what she had seen had made her a little worried about her. Tomoe looked tired and pissed off, which wasn't so abnormal really for her, but this time it seemed… different. Yayoi didn't know how to interpret the feeling but she knew something was up and she was bound and determined to wring it out of the orange haired girl if she had to.

On the way there Yayoi cracked open her new book and started reading, drinking in the information and storing it away for when she would need it in the future. She was so engrossed in it she almost missed her stop –numbers and words swirling inside her head and making her feel all warm and fuzzy– and had to do a flying leap to make it out of the doors in time. Blushing and feeling foolish, Yayoi tucked the book back against her chest and started walking in the direction of the Kurosaki-Jaegerjaques home.

* * *

Sorin was just getting out of the shower after a nice long run when he heard a knock at the door and, securing his towel tight around his bare waist, he padded to the door to answer it. Mere seconds later he wished he had ignored the damn thing and a gentle blush tinted the tanned skin of his face, neck and shoulders. Large light blue eyes stared widely at his bare chest and the low slung towel and Sorin had the near uncontrollable, and rather ridiculous given his near hatred for clothing, urge to cover his nipples. He cleared his throat, reaching up with the hand he had used to answer the door to rub at the back of his neck. Yayoi, lost in the sight of thick, tan muscles, stared and blinked slowly, eyes taking in everything as if she had never seen Sorin shirtless before. Or wet and shirtless. Perhaps the moisture gathering on his skin helped with that however. She shook herself a little harder than necessary and took a deep breath before attempting to speak.

"Uh…." she started, unsure of why she was even there anymore as she watched Sorin's abs flex. She made a small sound and tried to force herself to look _up_.

"H-hey." Sorin stuttered and shifted on his feet, cocking his hip and unintentionally showing more skin. His eyes wondered over the pale yellow dress Yayoi was wearing and he couldn't help but appreciate just how pretty she looked in that color; or any color for that matter.

Yayoi's eyes finally snapped away from Sorin's chest and she looked up at him, blushing prettily and clearing her throat daintily. "Is… Tomo here?" she asked, her voice quiet.

Sorin shook his head. "N-not yet." He had no idea at all where his sister was at the moment but he was pretty sure that she was _supposed _to be home by now considering she was still grounded.

Yayoi blinked, her face falling a little as he bit her lip and looked down at her feet. Sorin shifted and realized he should have invited her in long before that moment. He swallowed and stepped back from the door, hand tightening in the towel about his waist as he cleared his throat and asked if she'd like to come in and wait for his (stupid) sister. Yayoi nodded, still looking down, and stepped inside, slipping out of her shoes before moving the rest of the way in. Sorin moved out of her way and muttered something about underwear before blushing again and practically running from the girl he had just let into the house. Yayoi clutched the book to her chest tighter and took a deep breath as she made her way to the living room to sit and wait on the couch for Tomoe.

"Calm down, Yo. It's not like you've never seen him like that before… or been alone with him…." Yayoi sighed and closed her eyes. Maybe she should just go home and call Tomoe later.

As she sank into the plush, dark red couch that took up the majority of the living room and brought her legs up to tuck her feet under her skirt, she forced herself to take deep, even breaths and forget about what she had seen. It was better for everyone if she did and it would make the wait that much easier. So, to help that along, Yayoi cracked open her book again and stuck her small nose in it, prepared to lose herself until Tomoe got home.

Sorin, on the other hand, was standing in the middle of his bedroom trying to figure out if he should do his best at acting normal and just continue to parade around in practically nothing or if he should bother to put a shirt on since Yayoi was there. He felt stupid for thinking stuff like that, he never bothered to care enough for other people. His fathers to this day had to constantly badger him to dress properly when people came to visit. But, this was Yayoi; the only person in the world that could make him feel like this. Stupid and awkward and inferior. Sorin sighed deeply and pulled on a pair of jeans he had worn the day before, slipping a dark blue shirt over his head as an afterthought before finally leaving his room to see what Yayoi was up to.

He stopped at the end of the hallway when he saw her on the couch and couldn't stop the small smile that pulled at his lips as he saw her there, nose in a book and looking all cute. Sorin shook his head forcefully and entered the living room, plopping down at the far end of the couch and looking over at Yayoi just as she looked up at him. Their eyes locked and immediately looked away again before Sorin cleared his throat and did his best to pretend he wasn't uncomfortable.

"Are you... thirsty? I could get you something if you are…." Sorin's voice trailed off and Yayoi regarded him with wide eyes.

"Uhm… maybe some water. Oh!" Yayoi sat up suddenly and reached into her bag, pulling out the half melted chocolate bar Starrk had given her and frowning at it. "Aww…."

Sorin sat up and looked curiously at the chocolate and then back to Yayoi. "What?" he asked stupidly.

Yayoi looked up and continued to frown. "It's melting…." she said before biting her lip again and looking back into her bag to make sure it hadn't gotten on anything.

Sorin just watched her, forgetting that she had asked for water, until Yayoi finally sighed and set her bag on the floor, still holding the chocolate up in her small hand. She looked at Sorin and then back that the candy before she held it out to him in offering. Sorin blinked before smiling a little and reaching out for it.

"Don't want it then?" he asked and Yayoi finally stopped frowning.

She shook her head and shifted on the couch as she watched him test how soft the bar was before opening it experimentally. Sorin grinned and looked up at Yayoi, his fairly simple mind at the moment focused on the prospect of food –whatever it may be– and getting said food into his belly.

"This would go great will apple juice." Sorin said as he easily tore a piece from the soft candy in his hand and popped it in his mouth.

Yayoi smiled and giggled, shaking her head as she watched him consume the food, enjoying the brief moment of relaxation between them. They were so rare nowadays.

"You're so weird with the apple juice, Sorin." Yayoi said with a smile and Sorin looked up at her as he shoved more of the chocolate into his mouth.

Yayoi's eyes darted downward to the corner of Sorin's mouth, immediately seeing that Sorin had smeared a bit of the candy on himself. She bit her lip and looked up, catching Sorin's eyes. She swallowed and reached up to her own face, pointing at the corner of her mouth.

"You… have something…." she said, a small pink tongue poking out unconsciously to like at the spot of her own lips where it was dirtied on Sorin's.

Sorin blinked at her a few times before he rubbed the back of his hand over this mouth once, quickly. "Did I get it?" he asked quietly, feeling more than a little stupid for getting food on his face in front of Yayoi.

She shook her head and pointed again at her own face. "Right… right there." she said and bit her lip as he missed the spot again.

Sighing, and moving on impulse, Yayoi's hand stretched across the distance and the tip of her pointer wiped at the corner of Sorin's mouth. Sorin's eyes were large, the soft browns boring into Yayoi's pale blue ones before his hand shot up and grasped Yayoi's wrist. For a moment the world drops away between them; sound ceases to vibrate the air in the room and living room disappears. Sorin leans forward a bit on the couch, closer to Yayoi, and his eyes drop from her eyes to her mouth before they fly back up again, wider than before. He takes Yayoi's hand and wipes the finger on his pants, muttering a quick, "Here… they were dirty anyway, heh…."

Yayoi's eyes went wide as well as she stared at what Sorin was doing, her heart pounding in her chest and frustration screaming in her brain. Sorin dropped her wrist the moment he was done and stood up, mumbling something about apple juice before practically running from the room. Yayoi blinked after him, turning on the couch so she could watch his exit before looking down at her wrist and touching it with the tips of the fingers on her other hand. The skin where Sorin had touched burned a little and she found herself smiling at that, not one bit ready to feel stupid for thinking that had been… rather nice.

* * *

A/N OMG SHE LIVES! Sorry for the lack of replies to reviews lately Duckies, as well as the lack of updating. Life is busy and I took a break~ I'm not making any more promises as to when I'll update but I shall try to do so sooner and for all the others I have going on as well. Sorry for any mistakes here and sorry that it's so short. I hope it was still enjoyed anyway~

Hugs and love~

~Penny


	7. Annoucenment

Hello Duckies~

I know this isn't an update of a story like you all had hoped, but I bring far better news than that. I'm posting this to let you all know that it's finally happened. My first novel, Capture You, is now available online for purchase. There is a link at the fanclub, I'll also be posting the link on my profile here but it may take some time to show up. If you're super eager you can go to the fanclub though and check out the most recent blog. Link is also on my profile page here. It's been a long road and I'm glad it's finally finished. I only hope that you all enjoy it (those of you that buy it and read it) as much as I enjoyed working on it.

Thank you all and I will try my best to update something here as soon as I can. I love you all!

~Penny

PS: To all those still asking about getting the copy of Twin Flames, please stop asking. I've stated multiple times in many places that I'm not going to do it and I really don't want to continue repeating myself.


	8. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Time passed, as time is wont to do, and as it did Taichi was happy to see the pain in his body wane. He could walk easier, he could breathe easier, and he no longer needed the pills to sleep at night. He wasn't exactly happy with much else in his life, but he felt that, at least, he could start taking those steps in the right direction. He was back in school, his father and he had gone to a few more meetings with Dr. Urahara Kisuke—those were definitely times that he did _not_ enjoy—and, at least for now, there were no more screaming matches at home. Sorin had retreated into his own little world of workouts, training and carbo-loading, and Tomoe…. Tomoe had been rather silent, which should have tipped her family off that things might not be so fantastic for her either. But everyone else was so busy, and in a family that large and with the ages so close to adulthood for each child, some things were bound to be left unnoticed.

One thing for sure that had gone unnoticed was Taichi slipping from school during lunch and making his way halfway across town. Since Grimmjow had had to focus more on work lately what with all the time he'd taken off to dedicate not only to searching for Taichi but watching over him while he was hurt, and Ichigo was always busy with his own work, Taichi's restrictions were far less monitored. It was just too easy for him to move now, too easy for everyone to fall back into their own little worlds. First, he'd needed some money for a cab, the cash he had on hand was all to go to his soon-to-be former boss/pimp, Yammy Llargo. One of the boys that frequently purchased services from Taichi after school got a surprise offer before lunch, and as soon as Taichi had wiped his mouth and pocketed the money, he was gone. It was a means to an end, it was the last time he'd be doing things like that for money, but he'd still needed enough to pay for the cab ride out and back. It was a good thing he was quite fantastic at what he did.

As he sat in the darkened, empty club, perched at the end of the stage that, in only a handful of hours, would populated by a bevy of half naked beauties, his legs swung gently as if he didn't have a care in the world. But inside, his stomach was clenched and rolling, his heart was racing and his mind wouldn't shut up with his worries. What if Yammy reneged on the offer? What if he added more money because Taichi had taken so long to get it to him? What if, what if, what if? What if this emptiness never ended inside him and he was stuck, forever in a loop of pain and dysfunction, for the rest of his life. It terrified him, all of it, and he cleared his throat, swallowing and tightening his jaw.

His head snapped up at the clatter of metal on wood and his soft brown eyes landed on one of the near silent employees that had been cleaning up before business hours. He'd forgotten all about the young woman, and she'd been so quiet, his mind had been so lost to the moment it'd been easy. Taichi inhaled deeply and held it, closing his eyes as he tried to calm his suddenly racing heart. There was music playing, quietly, so he decided to focus on that instead, bobbing his head as he waited and doing a fairly poor job of pushing everything else out of his head. He focused on the lyrics, wishing he could understand them. They were… German maybe? Something heavy and yet somehow still containing a thick current of Pop. It begged the body to move and he didn't care to stop himself as his upper body just barely bounced with the beat. This entire trip was stressful, a moment of letting go and allowing something besides anticipation and fear fill him was just what he wanted.

"Taichi." The sound of his own name had never had such fear filling him as it did in that moment and he looked up again, opening his eyes and turning his head towards the speaker. A man, short and rather nondescript, jerked his head towards the open door he was standing in front of and he turned to disappear back inside the room beyond.

Taichi gulped and took another deep breath before he pushed carefully off the end of the stage and followed. _Let's get this over with..._

* * *

Most of Grimmjow's days of being a mobster were behind him now, but that didn't stop his old boss from calling in favors Grimmjow knew he owed, and it certainly didn't stop the kernel of both dread and excitement that filled him each time he ran a small job again. This time was no different, though with it had come a heavy dose of disgust as well. He hated Yammy with a passion, bad blood that had stretched across the decades they'd known each other. Though, if he were honest with himself, he couldn't even remember what had started their so-called feud so many years ago. Fuck he was getting old. His cell phone rang and he growled at it, knowing that wouldn't make it stop but still doing it just because he could. After snatching it up and barking out a terse greeting, he grunted several times and turned right down the road he'd almost missed before he hung up again. He was almost there and he was already ready to get this shit done.

* * *

When Taichi entered the room beyond the door he shouldn't have been surprised by the amount of people Yammy had surrounded himself with. Nor the amount of food and booze, nor the big screen TV on the far wall that played the football game. Not even the smell that lingered in the air in thinning clouds of tobacco and marijuana. He tried to ignore it all but ultimately failed, even as his eyes locked on Yammy and he stopped a few feet before him and smiled tightly.

Yammy's voice boomed through the room, drowning everything else out.

"You've kept me waiting too long, boy. You have my money?"

Taichi nodded and slowly pulled an envelope from the inner pocket of his school jacket, waving it slightly before he tossed it onto the table that separated him from the large man before him. His eyes flicked to the older gentleman beside Yammy who looked thoroughly bored with himself, and two men Taichi could only assume were the man's bodyguards; one tall and meaty, slow looking with an underbite, the other small and dainty and yet somehow still masculine.

"Are we finished now?" He wanted to kick himself, but the words were already out of his mouth and he almost shivered at the grin and accompanying laugh that came from Yammy.

"You're costing me money, boy. One of my best twinks. And this," he stopped and leaned forward to grab up the envelope, shaking it before he sat back to actually count it. "and the time you spent gettin' it to me…. It's not gonna cut it anymore."

"But you said—"

"Shut it!" Yammy snapped, angry now and leaning forward as he seemed to grow in size and girth. He held up one thick finger, still holding the envelope containing a nice wad of cash.

"One more job."

Taichi felt sick but he kept his mouth shut this time, if only to stop the bile from rising and coming out. One more time… he could do that, right? Just one… one more time. He sighed, shoulders sagging, a sight that caused Yammy to grin widely and relax before he leaned back in his seat again. Yammy gestured to the older man beside him and for the first time the man's wrinkled and craggy face showed emotion, a giddy smile as yellowed eyes raked over Taichi's body. Taichi had to swallow the bile again as it rose at the thought of this man's hands on him. He was starting to be very grateful he'd skiped out on a real lunch today. Taichi couldn't be certain that he wouldn't have actually vomited at the thought of that man touching him.

However, what was expected to happen, no matter how vile, never did as a strong and disturbingly familiar—not to mention _angry_—voice cracked through the air like gunfire.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing here, _boy_?"

Taichi's face blanched and his eyes went wide as he froze, unable to even turn to look at his father as he stood in the doorway, rage written clearly all over his face. Yammy, unaware of Grimmjow's connection to Taichi and enraged by the interruption from what he considered an enemy, stood to his full height and shouted at Grimmjow.

"What the fuck are _you_ doing here? I'm in the middle of a meeting!"

Grimmjow hissed and his piercing eyes were locked on the man, daring him to continue speaking. On an outside level, Yammy knew that Grimmjow was capable of so much more than he seemed, and it made the man pause just long enough to cause a bit of a quiet stir through his men. His jaw tightened and he grunted.

"Fuck off, Jaegerjaques, this isn't any of your concern. If you have business with me, it can wait until I'm done here."

"That piece of shit you're trying to sell off is my _son_." Grimmjow spat and took a small pleasure at the sight of Yammy's eyes going wide before they flew back to Taichi.

Murmurs filled the room and Yammy looked back to Grimmjow with thinly veiled panic in his eyes.

"I… he is not!" He denied but immediately turned on Taichi. "You told me your last name was Kurosaki!"

Taichi wouldn't have been able to speak if there were a gun to his head. He wanted to die. This was worse than getting raped, worse than getting hurt and running for his life. Worse than the look in both his fathers' eyes when they'd seen him after; than this shame that burned his insides like lava. He was shaking, unable to even look up, and he barely resisted the urge to flinch so hard he jumped out of his own skin when a steel-like grip took his upper arm and he was yanked back, dragged bodily from the room. No one stopped them, Grimmjow's clout spreading far and wide. No one even bothered to _try_ and save the young man with the pretty face and long blue hair.

All that remained in the room as they left was Grimmjow's threat growled and hanging in the air, mingling with the smoke.

"If I so much as _smell_ you or any of your guys near my son again, I will _end _all of you."

* * *

Sorin was sitting on the couch with the game playing on low because Tomoe was at the coffee table doing her homework. Neither one of them talked, nor did they feel the need to as they were otherwise occupied. Ichigo, who'd been in the kitchen since he'd come home getting dinner set up, finally threw the last bit of it in the oven and allowed himself a break to sit and relax a bit while it cooked. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and headed out of the kitchen towards the living room just as the front door was flung open, crashing into the wall behind it with a loud BANG. Ichigo, Sorin and Tomoe all jumped, heads whipping in the direction of the now open portal just in time to see Taichi roughly pushed into the house. Grimmjow entered almost immediately behind him, not paying one damn bit of attention as his son stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face; his own eyes wild, nostrils flared as far as they could go. He sucked in a breath through his nose before snapping in a booming voice: "Guess where I found, _this_?!"

"The hell is going on here?" Ichigo asked, frowning deeply at both his eldest son and his boyfriend, confused and quickly filling with dread, the beer all but forgotten in his hand now. The wide eyes of their other children stared on in silence.

"He's a fucking _whore_. He didn't get fuckin' _raped_."

"What the hell do you even care?" Taichi's voice came clear, though it was filled with rage just as his father's was. His head lifted, hard brown eyes narrowing on Grimmjow's face, his jaw clenching to try and stem the rest of what he wanted to say; the rest of what he had been wanting to say for years. He failed.

"You haven't paid a damn bit of attention to me in years and _now_ you want to act like my father all of the sudden? Like you actually _care_ about me?"

"Taichi!" Ichigo tried to stop the conversation, gain control, but it quickly spiraled as the tension that had built in the silence of the car ride home boiled over into the entryway.

"You listen here, you little piece of shit—"

"No you listen, you arrogant fucking bastard—" Grimmjow struck Taichi, once again nearly knocking him over, the young man falling back against the wall and reaching out, barely catching support before he fell flat on his face. Ichigo dropped his beer, rushing towards Grimmjow and pushing him back roughly against the front door, shouting his name when Grimmjow fought against him, trying to get back at Taichi and finish what he'd started.

"Sorin get Taichi some ice. Then ALL of you go to your rooms."

No one said anything, but all three teenagers moved, Tomoe scooping up her books and paper and almost running down the hallway to get away from the scene. No one saw the tears in her eyes at the sight of her father nearly knocking out her brother. Sorin shut off the TV and went to the kitchen for ice like he'd been told, heart racing as confusing questions warred inside him. He didn't understand what was going on, or what either his brother or father were talking about, but it started to make something cold and hard form in his gut.

Taichi pushed away from the wall and spun to walk the opposite direction of his siblings towards his room, muttering darkly under his breath and eager to get away from the man who claimed kinship to him in one breath, and denounced him in the next.

Brown and blue eyes locked and clashed until Sorin's footsteps carried him back out of the kitchen and down the hall towards Taichi's bedroom. Ichigo's jaw tensed and he let go of Grimmjow's shirt, forcefully pushing off the man's chest as soon as they were alone.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He hissed the question, brows furrowed enough to etch a deep crease between them.

Grimmjow said nothing and pushed past Ichigo, their shoulders clashing before Grimmjow made a beeline towards the back yard. He pulled open the glass door so hard it shook, the metal frame clanging and vibrating, and he stepped out back before reaching into his blazer. Unabashedly he pulled out a pack of smokes, biting the end of one to pull it out and lighting up as soon as he'd taken the lighter from the cardboard pack. His teeth were pressing the filter so hard the first drag was tough, be he managed to fill his lungs with the noxious smoke before he expelled it up at the night sky.

Not happy, Ichigo joined him, shutting the glass door behind him and crossing his arms over his chest. He was fully prepared to start bitching about Grimmjow's attitude towards Taichi, again, before Grimmjow started talking in a growling voice, explaining everything he'd heard and seen that night. Of Taichi standing before Yammy, the most profitable pimp in Tokyo, about to agree to sleep with some old man Grimmjow vaguely remembered from years ago. Grimmjow had been so upset by the implications, the instant the knowledge that Taichi had done this before, more than once, hit him he hadn't been able to see much more than bloody red murder.

Ichigo didn't know what to say, his heart was crashing around in his chest with too many warring emotions to name them all. He wanted to turn around and walk back to his son's room. He wanted to hug him and hold him and demand he tell him _why_ he would do something like this. He wanted to hit him until he understood how wrong he was to even _think_ about this. He wanted to tear up like a big girl and ask God why this shit had to happen to _his _family. But most importantly, how they _hell_ could they fix it?

"Put the cigarette out." He said, a tremor in his voice before he swallowed and licked his lips.

Grimmjow gave him a searing, incredulous look and took a deep, defiant drag.

"The fuck are we gonna do, Ichigo?" He asked on a sigh. He was getting old, all of this shit with Taichi was wearing him out. What the hell was wrong with that kid? Why couldn't he just be normal?

* * *

Sorin entered Taichi's room silently, shutting the door behind him as he found his brother sitting on the edge of his bed. Taichi's head hung, his legs slightly spread and his hands dangling between them. Sorin sighed before he stepped close enough to hand Taichi the ice pack he'd grabbed from the freezer. Taichi Let out his own breath and reached for it blindly before he lifted his head so he could press it to the side of his face where his father had hit him. It was already throbbing and on fire, but the pain was nothing compared to the wrenching agony in his chest. He was getting rather used to physical pain lately. Sorin shifted on his feet, pressing his lips together as his mind danced back and forth between asking everything and just walking away. It was so much easier when he got to be ignornt about things he was pretty sure he didn't want to know in the first place. He was so confused by what he'd just seen and heard, he didn't know if he even knew where to start anyway, let alone if any of his questions would be welcome. Would Taichi just get mad at him? Sorin sighed.

"You... okay?" He asked and Taichi snorted, ashamed of the hot prickle of tears that instantly began to press behind his eyes at the simple question.

He licked his lips.

"No." His mouth tried to pull into a humorless smile, but Taichi couldn't even manage that and he shook his head. "No, I am not."

A tear slid down his cheek as his voice cracked on the last word and he hung his head again. He was so very, very far from okay.

Even as uncomfortable with the sight of his brother with tears in his eyes and a broken voice made him, Sorin pressed his lips together and carefully sat on the bed next to Taichi. There was no panic like he'd felt when Yayoi had cried on him, only a deep, gnawing sadness that he really just wanted to go away. He didn't like any of this, not one bit. For a moment he did nothing, just sat next to Taichi as if his mere presence could offer him solace. And then he shifted and a strong arm came around Taichi's shoulders, pulling him awkwardly closer. Taichi let out a strange sound, a whining sort of laugh that turned instantly into a deep sob. Even when his hand flew up to cover his mouth, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop it. Sorin's jaw tightened and his stomach lurched as he turned towards his brother, wrapping both arms around him as Taichi leaned heavily against him and cried his heart out, the deep, wrenching sobs heard all the way down the hallway.

* * *

A/N Well... howdy :D I know this is far, FAR too late to beg for forgiveness, but I hope whoever is still waiting to read this enjoys this update enough to try and make up for my absence. Life's been... hard for me the last few years, but know I never stopped thinking about finishing all my stories here one day. This is a start. If you're a part of the fanclub over on deviantART, go check out my recent News and Updates post about another project I've been working on on the side. I will do my very best to keep this one going to the end this time and not take so long between updates again. My mind if churning with new, fresh ideas so fingers crossed and good mojo flowin' duckies!

Love and hugs,

~Penny


	9. Chatper Seven

Chapter Seven

"He did _what?!_" Yayoi raised her voice and then immediately covered her mouth with both hands. Her sky blue eyes were wide on Tomoe as the girl simply nodded her head, staring off into space.

After telling Yayoi about the fight between her father and Taichi last night, and what she'd heard, she realized she still felt numb about it. At first it had really upset her, enough to have tears springing to her eyes, but it hadn't lasted long. It was like she shut it all down because it was too troublesome to deal with at the moment. So Taichi and Grimmjow were having issues. When were they _not _having issues? Besides, she had her own problems to deal with that had nothing to do with the fact her brother had apparently been whoring himself out for God knew how long.

"So… wow. What's going to happen to him now?" Yayoi asked and Tomoe shrugged, shaking herself out of her mini trance.

"No idea. Daddy won't even look at him and Chichi is so stressed out I think he might actually start hitting people."

"I mean, are they going to make him keep up with counseling and stuff and ground him forever or something?"

"I don't _know,_ Yo. And frankly I don't really care right now. Taichi's an idiot for doing what he did and I've got bigger things to worry about than my other idiot brother overreacting to the point of literally selling his asshole to people."

Yayoi blinked at Tomoe as she pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to snap at her that that wasn't fair to Taichi. Tomoe had been acting strangely for a couple weeks now and the one, and only, time she'd tried to get Tomoe to confide in her she'd been brushed aside so forcefully she'd excused herself to go cry in the bathroom. Granted, she had been at that lovely time of the month where women tend to get a little more emotional, but it didn't negate the fact that something was going on with Tomoe. Yayoi sighed and looked away from Tomoe. Maybe she'd ask Sorin about it later. They hadn't talked much since she had shown up at his house to find him wet and shirtless.

Yayoi blushed as she stared off, the memory of that sight making her entire body warm. She'd dreamed of the touch of his fingers around her wrist, the sensation of her own finger brushing so close to those gorgeous lips of his.

Tomoe caught Yayoi and rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where the girl's mind had gone and really wanting nothing to do with it. She was so sick of her and Sorin dancing around each other but being too stupid to do anything about it that she was ready to scream. Why were all the people in her life so stupid?

"Anyway," She sighed, and shoved the half eaten lunch she'd been picking at for the entire period back into her bag. "I have somewhere to be after school so I won't be going to club with you today." Again. Tomoe had been ditching Yayoi at least twice a week now for the past three and hadn't once told her why.

She frowned at Tomoe as she got to her feet and stretched her arms above her head.

"Oh?" Yayoi asked, trying again to find out what her so-called best friend was up to.

Tomoe didn't take the bait, she simply nodded and slung her bag over one shoulder. "Yeah. So I guess I'll see you this weekend or something. Chichi wants to have dinner with everyone, but dad is being an asshole about it. As usual."

She turned and began walking away as the bell signaled the end of their lunch hour.

"Alright, bye." Yayoi called out and Tomoe simply waved over her shoulder at her.

With a frown, Yayoi pushed to her feet as well and made her way to her class.

* * *

Tomoe pulled the stop cord on the bus for the next stop, gathering her bag and the little pink cardigan she'd brought that morning to school because of the chill in the air. As soon as she was off the vehicle, she turned and made her way down the busy sidewalk towards her destination. She should really stop doing this, she thought to herself as he shouldered he bag and dodged running smack into an old man tugging his little dog behind him on a long leash. She spared the dog a grin but continued on.

It'd been a few weeks, but she found that she couldn't bring herself to stop making this trek the two days a week she was free after school. At first, she'd told herself that it was just for the benefits, she was getting something out of it that she desperately wanted, and no one was getting hurt in the process. But then, after she had what she wanted in her hands, she still found herself walking the same street, turning into the same building, letting her feet take her up those same, narrow stairs. It infuriated her just as much as it intrigued her, but it was what it was.

Tomoe let out a sigh and looked up from the sidewalk, realizing she had already reached her destination, and she pulled a face before a tiny growl bubbled up and she turned down the dingy alley. Her shoes tapped on the narrow steps, and carried her down a short hallway before she stopped at a dingy looking door. She reached up, curling her fingers into a fist, before she knocked and waited. The door opened and she looked up… way up into icy blue eyes.

"Heya, Kitty Cat."

* * *

The room smelled of vanilla and rage, a strange combination that Kisuke was becoming rather familiar with on Wednesdays. Voices rose from the two across from him once more, like a tide, ebbing and flowing but never ceasing. They were at it again, after finally getting to the point of being able to speak-almost—normally to each other for the first time in what Kisuke proposed was years. Something had happened, though, and even with all the screaming and the accusations flying, he still had yet to figure out what that was.

"Because you're a sick little shit!"

"Better than being just like you!"

Kisuke sighed inwardly and briefly contemplated the idea of throwing one of them out so he could find out what was really going on here. He raised a hand and his voice, just enough to reach their ears over their own shouts.

"Why don't we take turns screaming so each of us can be heard."

"Fuck you, I'm not sitting here for this." Grimmjow jumped to his feet, pointing a finger at Taichi but looking at Kisuke. "Fix him!" As if Kisuke could just snap his fingers and "fix" the boy. And with that, Grimmjow stormed out of Kisuke's office, slamming the door behind him.

Kiksuke simply sat in his chair with blond eyebrows raised as he stared at the closed door a moment. He cleared his throat.

"Well, that was only partially unexpected." He said, turning his attention back to Taichi, who was still sitting on the plush little couch.

Taichi's jaw was tense, the muscles jerking as he clenched and released his jaw repeatedly.

"As always, your father seems very lively today." He said, a teasing grin twitching his lips before he sat back and let his hands rest in his lap. Taichi rolled his eyes before he closed them, still sitting as stiff as could be, like a tightly wound cord about to snap.

"I'm sensing more tension than usual between you two, Taichi. Would you like to explain it to me so that I can understand?"

"No." Was Taichi's terse response, but he sighed and Kisuke watched thin shoulders sag in defeat.

He waited, knowing that pushing Taichi to speak up would only have the young man reverting to his sullen, quiet self, but he watched everything. Lately, the meetings with the father and son had been laced with tension and shouts, but it hadn't been nearly like this before. Grimmjow would grumble and bitch about why he had to be there, but he'd say his peace and then go wait in the lobby for his son to finish up. And in the meantime, Taichi had begun to open up, marginally of course, but Kisuke had thought he'd gained a bit of the boy's trust.

"Ah, and here I thought we were becoming such good friends." Kisuke sighed and Taichi looked up at him with a scowl on his face. Eye contact was good, and Kisuke gave Tai an encouraging smile.

"Did you and your father have another fight?" He asked, and brown eyes shifted away as the scowl twitched and deepened.

Taichi was silent for so long, Kisuke had begun to think he would refuse to respond, and as he shifted in his seat, ready to open his mouth and perhaps steer the subject away from this obviously sore topic, Taichi's soft, hesitant voice reached his ears.

"He hates me." Thin blue brows twitched and came together a moment before his entire body sagged into the couch.

"It's not like I meant to do it, you know. I didn't wake up one day and say 'I know what I should do today, I should go out to Nichome and see how much money this body can make me.'"

Progress, Kisuke thought, but said nothing as Taichi continued.

"It just happened, and then Daisuke and I met this guy, who introduced us to this other guy and the next thing I knew, we were working; _really_ working. And it felt good. I was doing something that I was apparently good at and people were telling me how great I was and… I just…." He let out a shaky breath and stopped, blinking at the far corner of the room as if he'd forgotten Kisuke was even there. The man watched as Taichi seemed to slip into memories, and he let him have a moment before he tried to break through.

"You felt needed and loved. Purposeful." Taichi nodded.

"I wasn't a third wheel anymore. I was the best, I was… I didn't even care about the money. But then, it started not being so great anymore, and I got beat up a few times. But when I tried to get out…. It was a lot harder to do than I thought. But I worked it off, I saved up every bit I made and I was done. I was finished with it and no one would have ever known what I'd done but then _he_ showed up out of nowhere and now he hates me even more."

"I don't believe he hates you, Taichi. He simply doesn't understand how to show concern." Kisuke interjected, leaning back in his chair and resting his elbows on the arms, steepling his fingers in front of him.

Taichi finally looked at him, his eyes gone cold and hard once more, his face like a gorgeous piece of marble.

"He hates everything about me, and it's never going to change. And I hate him right back."

* * *

Tomoe rolled her eyes as she sat there, watching Kin set things up, legs crossed at the knee and arms crossed over her chest.

"You could have been ready when I got here, I only have so much time you know." She bitched and he looked up, locking those piercing pale blue orbs on her as his wide lips pulled into a mocking smirk.

"Shh, Kitty Cat. Save the fangs fer later, ne?"

"You're not the one that has a fucking curfew, ass." He only chuckled and set the last item out on the drop cloth laid out in his living room.

His living room; which did not belong to the apartment that he'd forced Tomoe to clean a few weeks prior. His living room that was spotless and sparsely decorated and nothing like the cesspool she still had nightmares about.

"Impatient." His voice rumbled softly and he pushed to his feet, turning towards her and taking a few steps before he dropped down again, his knees touching the ground at her feet. He was so tall he still looked her directly in the eyes in this position, and Tomoe gulped and frowned at him.

"Hair down today, Kitty Cat." He reached out and towards the bun she'd fashioned on top of her head, held together with pencils from her backpack. She shivered a bit as it all fell in a thick orange cloud, and she avoided eye contact with him as he set the pencils aside and reached for the lapels of the silk robe she wore.

"This one's 'bout sex'ality, Kitty Cat. Needja ta feel it." He spoke as he exposed her shoulders.

Dark blue met icy pale eyes and she furrowed her brow as she watched him. "I feel it." She said, though her voice shook, and not for the first time did she wonder how it had turned out like this.

He chuckled and took her wrists in cool hands, standing and pulling her up with him, eyes sliding down over her body as the robe fell, catching at her forearms and revealing that she was wearing nothing but a nude pair of panties.

"Ya don't, Kitty Cat. Yer wantin' ta hide from me even now. Yer ma gorgeous canvas, remember that." When he let go of her and turned away, the robe fell and Tomoe stood there, trying not to reach up and cover her naked breasts. She took a deep breath, not feeling one bit sexy or gorgeous, and sighed before she followed him.

Music suddenly filled the space, a slow, sultry beat she recognized as one of Kin's favorites while working. It was mellow, and set the mood nicely, even made her relax marginally, and a part of her was grateful for it. Her mind wandered as Kin reached for a jar of paint and poured it onto an old plate, turning the jar as he tilted it back up so that the stream didn't drip down the side of the glass. He set it aside and placed his left hand in the viscous liquid before he turned to her once more and pressed that hand against her body, cupping her breast, lifting and pressing it to make sure the paint stuck, before he slid his palm down, smearing the bright red handprint.

She sucked in a breath and watched his face as he did this, noting the lack of emotion there, the cold, impassive expression as his fingertips left her skin. He turned and set his palm once again in the paint, pressing this one over her cloth-covered sex, and making her gasp and close her eyes again. She had to remind herself over and over again that this wasn't what it felt like at times, he wasn't seducing her, or hitting on her, or even trying to feel her up. It was art, _his_ art, and it meant nothing more than that.

He took her hand and placed it over her clean breast before he placed another of his own handprints, so much larger than hers, over the hand and took a step back, giving her entire body a critical eye. "One more." He muttered, before he dipped his hand one last time into the paint and came towards her. This one he pressed over her mouth, as if silencing her, though he only lingered long enough to transfer the pigment before his hands were gone and he grabbed a rag to wipe them clean.

"Stand in fron'a tha window, Kitty Cat. Tha light's perfect there."

As she situated herself, he lifted a camera and held the viewfinder to his eye, watching her through it a moment before he dropped it again and stepped closer.

"Sex'ality and the suppression of the feminine mind. How does that make ya feel, Kitty Cat?" She made face at him, frowning and furrowing her brow, and she moved to part her lips before he stopped her.

"Ah, ah, ah. _Show_ me." The camera lifted once more and he caught the first shot of her nostrils flaring and that fierce light in her eyes. The bright red paint only accentuated it and made him grin. As always, the first shot was usually the best with Tomoe. He loved her; she was his best model.

A handful of shots later and Tomoe was in Kin's bathroom washing the paint off, the pink stained water swirling as it went down the drain leaving a faint stain of color on the chipped porcelain. She'd have to get going soon, and as with the past few times, she found it harder and harder to want to do so. Home sucked, tensions were way too high between Taichi and her father, Ichigo looked more and more tired each day and Sorin had started ignoring everyone altogether. It wasn't home anymore. It wasn't happy despite the normal family drama.

The only time she felt at peace anymore was with a stranger she barely knew anything about, some guy who'd asked her to model for him after…. Tomoe sniffed and stood up straight, pulling her faded yellow bra on and shoving her arms through the sleeves of her dress shirt. Well, she wasn't going to be as stupid as Taichi and run away from everything that bothered her. She was going to deal with it until she could get out and that was that.

As soon as she was dressed again, she exited the bathroom to find Kin sitting on his couch, leaned over his laptop and fiddling with the digital pictures he'd taken of her earlier. She walked up behind him and leaned forward, resting both hands on the back of the couch and squinting at her image on the screen. She had to admit, even though she didn't really understand what all his artistic meanings behind his photos meant, she didn't look all that bad in them. She felt strange seeing herself like that, mostly naked, strong, fierce even. Sure, she felt like a strong woman most days, but she tended to be, deep down where no one could see it, rather self-conscious. She didn't like her body, she thought she was too soft in places a woman shouldn't be soft in, too round, too small. Her hair was too red, her face could be boyish, and her breasts….

Tomoe shook herself and stood up straight again.

"I have to go." She stated plainly and turned to leave, intent on going home and eating something she shouldn't before she started in on her homework.

Slim fingers snaked out and caught her wrist, yanking her back before she had a chance to get very far, and she lost balance, tumbling back over the couch with an indignant screech. Where a second before she was standing, she suddenly found herself sprawled across Kin's lap, the man himself grinning lasciviously down at her. For a moment all she could do was blink up at him, transfixed as his tongue slid across his upper teeth. It made her shiver and frown before embarrassment and anger flared and she struggled to sit up and get off him. Cursing roundly, cheeks flushed, Tomoe smacked at Kin, but it only made him chuckle.

"Let me up, pig!"

A long, rope-muscled arm curled around her waist as she moved, pulling her back before she could get away so that she was sitting on his lap, facing the laptop perched on the coffee table. Her back flush against his chest, Tomoe struggled halfheartedly to get away, all the while very conscious of her position. Surely she weighed a ton, and Kin was so thin, she had to be crushing him!

He pointed at the screen, ignoring all attempts of her to get away. "Yer a gem, Kitty cat." His voice purred, and she felt his fingers brush aside her hair; his breath puff hotly against the skin of her neck.

When she stiffened the arm around her waist loosened and his big, long fingered hands rested on the tops of her thighs, fingers curling over the muscle as he slid soft palms towards her knees.

"Bes' model I got."

Her skin flushed further, heating so much she thought her skin would be as red as her hair, but all she could do was watch his hands and shiver as they slowly grazed her skin, working their way back up her bare thighs. His thumbs caressed at her inner thighs, and her legs twitched closed marginally as she clenched her jaw.

"Your boyfriend lets you get away with touching other people like this?" She snapped, the heat of her embarrassment leaking into her voice. It made her heart pound wildly in her chest, she knew she should have left sooner, but then his hands had been on her and she just couldn't move anymore. She felt sick about it, but she couldn't make her body do as she knew she should.

His only response was another chuckle before his ring and middle fingers brushed the hem of her panties on either side of her sex. And then they were gone, and he was pushing her out of his lap to her feet, slapping his palm against her ass once she was up again.

"Scurry home, Kitty Cat. Don't want mommy and daddy ta know whachoo been up to."

Shame filled her, prickling behind her eyes, and she turned back, sparing him a withering glare before she swung around, grabbing up her bag and fleeing his apartment; slamming the door behind her as hard as she could. That _asshole_. He kept doing things like that, and it was driving her insane! So why was she going back? Why was she putting herself in that situation over and over again? What had she expected after agreeing to pose for him? Agreeing to even acknowledge his presence when they both knew she could have left after that first time and never come back?

She managed to make it home and to her room before she broke down, locking her door and flinging herself on her bed, pressing her face into her pillow as she cried tears of shame and frustration. She hated herself so much, but she couldn't stop. And it was all _his_ fault.

* * *

A/N I am so sorry about how long this took, and the fact I haven't had time to answer or reply to anyone's reviews! I'm a horrible person, I know TAT If it wasn't one thing, it was another lately, preventing me from getting this done, but after a nasty flu and some horrible tooth pain and several extractions, my brain exploded with new ideas and I had to rework plans for the future of this story. I meant to have more in this chapter, I really did, but I didn't want you all to wait any longer than you already have.

I know you're probably wondering how things got to where they are now with Kin and Tomoe ;p Of course the next chapter will get us all up to speed on the events that led up to this, who this mysterious "boyfriend" of Kin's is and so forth. Things are escalating with Taichi and Grimmjow and it's about to come to a head, VERY soon. I'm excited to see what you all think about upcoming developments there. We'll visit Yayoi and Sorin in a bit, Sora too. So much to come!

I will do my very best to write out this next chapter quicker, and try very hard to update more frequently. I'm still struggling with some very big RL stuff though, so if I start lagging, feel free to poke at me on deviantART, y!gallery or Facebook. I love you all, and thank you to every one of you that have stuck with me, waiting literally years for me to pick this story back up! You have no idea what it means to me, and how much it warms my cold little heart~

Hugs and Love!

~Miss P.


	10. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Shinji sat in one of the lounge chairs in Ichigo's backyard, a glass of white wine in one hand and his other curled gently in his lap. He was alone for the moment, Nnoitra had wandered off to go grumble with that asshole Ichigo was still living with, and Ichigo was checking on the roast he'd decided to make for the family dinner tonight. It'd take a while, but everyone had come early because anytime they did things like this it turned into an all-day sort of event.

But he wasn't focused on that at the moment. Instead, Shinji's eyes were narrowed on his daughter sitting with a very thin Taichi, speaking softly to each other and ignoring the world around them. Yayoi's hand would periodically reach up and pet Taichi's hair, and the boy was refusing to look her in the eyes. If Shinji didn't know better he'd have thought the two would make an adorable couple, but there was too much maternal affection in Yayoi's eyes. And there was too much reluctance to accept it in Taichi's body language. For the millionth time in the past few months, Shinji wanted to kill Grimmjow. This was all his fault, that look on Taichi's face, that sweet, beautiful boy; it was all Grimmjow's intolerance's fault. He hated him.

"Why are you glaring at my son and your daughter?"

Ichigo's voice reached Shinji, startling him from his thoughts, and his head snapped up just in time to see the man take a seat in the lounge chair next to his; beer in hand and tired bruises under his eyes. Shinji huffed and took a sip of his wine.

"I was imagining all the ways I could kill yer stupid boyfriend." He replied and Ichigo simply sighed, leaning back against the cushion as his eyes, too, traveled to Yayoi and Taichi.

"It's getting worse between them." He muttered, running a hand over his face and then back through his hair. Shinji grunted and Ichigo continued.

"I really don't know what to do about it anymore, Shin. They're both idiots, but… it's tearing this family apart. And I don't have the time, unfortunately, to fix it."

"It's not on _you_ to fix it, Ichi. That asshole needs to stand up and have a real talk with his son and not be an intolerant assfuck about it."

It was Ichigo's turn to grunt and he took a drink from his bottle of beer. "I don't think he's capable of that anymore. At dinner last night, no one even spoke. It was horrible. Between the two of them, it's like everyone's afraid to say anything that might set them off. I just…." He sighed, a look of abject defeat washing over his face. "I don't know what to do anymore. I really don't, Shin."

"Divorce the bastard and hug your babies." Shinji suggested tersely and Ichigo smirked, but there was a sadness that lingered in his soft brown eyes. He'd already kicked Grimmjow out of bed, they hadn't been able to talk much themselves lately. Everything turned into a fight about Taichi anymore, and it was making him sick.

Ichigo's eyes lifted and followed Shinji's to Taichi and Yayoi just in time to see the girl reach up and brush away a tear that slid down the young man's face. It broke his heart and made him feel like a shit parent. Something had to change. And it had to change _now_.

* * *

"Shh, don't cry, Taichi." Yayoi whispered and Taichi sniffed hard, looking up before he wiped furiously at his cheeks and took a deep breath. He was so sick of this. Sick of everything; of feeling like he was less than human because of who he was. Like he'd fucked up so bad there was no going back. Like he was some worthless piece of shit in his father's eyes.

"Let's talk about something else then." He said, trying to not let his voice crack, but failing because his throat was so dry.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his father standing near his uncle, Sorin close by as the three of them chatted. Grimmjow's hand raised and patted Sorin's shoulder, and there was a wide, proud grin on his face. His stomach rolled and he looked quickly away. Running away again seemed so much better than staying; moreso every passing day. Dying seemed so much more preferable at this point. Maybe he should have let those men beat him to death in that hotel room when they'd finished using his body.

"Oto-chan got me another of those stuffed ducks the other day. This one is blue with a pink beak and it's all fat and round." She tried, she really did, to make Taichi smile, to get his mind off the bad things, but when his eyes met hers again she knew her attempts were woefully lacking. She sighed.

"I… Oh! Sora and I are going to try and write up a proposal for oto-chan's host club, a formal way to show him the changes I'd implement to make the business even better." Her wide smile encompassed most of her face and Taichi's lips twitched in an attempt at a half smile.

"That's cool." Who was Sora again? He frowned and tried to remember, but no face popped into his head and after a few attempts he simply gave up.

"What sorts of changes?"

Smile still in place, Yayoi began to list all the things she would do once she was in charge, and Taichi's mind wandered as she spoke. He was so proud of her, she was so smart and driven, encouraged by both Shinji and Nnoitra, even if Nnoitra wasn't one bit pleased with the idea of Yayoi moving into Shinji's line of work. Was it really so hard for some people to just be okay with what their children wanted to do with themselves? It wasn't like Taichi had quit swimming to focus on, say, stripping or his short-lived prostitution career. He sighed and his vision refocused, noticing that Yayoi was just staring at him with a small frown on her face.

"Sorry." He mumbled and she patted his shoulder.

"It's okay. You have a lot on your mind I guess."

"Tai." Taichi's head lifted when he heard Ichigo's voice call out his name and he pushed to his feet, shuffling closer so his father didn't have to yell at him.

"Yes, Chichi?" his voice was so soft the two older men barely hear him and Shinji frowned deeply at the beaten puppy look in the boy's expression.

"Why don't you go finish up in the kitchen for me, please? It would be very helpful and I could use a bit more…." Ichigo trailed off and Taichi nodded his head.

"Sure thing, chichi." He said, shoving both hands in his pockets as he turned and made his way back into the house.

There wasn't much left to do, the roast was nearly done, Ichigo had gone a more Western route tonight so there was a steaming pot of boiled potatoes still to mash, and a salad with all sorts of vegetables had been set aside. With a sigh, Taichi took a masher from one of the drawers and pulled the still warm pot closer. For a millionth time since he'd been caught, Taichi found himself trying to push out all thought from his head so he could focus on simple tasks. Each of those times he'd found the best way to do it was when he was putting all his attention on preparing food. It almost brought a smile to his face as he did these sorts of things; it was the only time his heart ever felt a hint of the lightness it had in the past.

* * *

It wasn't long after Taichi had disappeared into the kitchen before Grimmjow realized that their beer bottles were empty, and he gathered the extras before he turned to make his way into the house to get more out of the fridge. Sorin, who'd noticed his brother having gone the same way, frowned and offered to grab a couple for his father, but Grimmjow shook his head and stepped into the house.

Grimmjow walked into the kitchen moments later and saw Taichi stirring a pot on the stove. His jaw ticked and he set his empty beer bottle on the island heavily. Taichi's head snapped up and back, catching sight of his father moving towards the fridge and he looked quickly away again. Grimmjow's lip curled back over his teeth before his mouth opened and words leapt out before he could even think to stop them.

"Quit your crying, your mascara will start running."

It was stupid, made his blood race with irritation at himself for even saying it.

Taichi stiffened and turned away to return to stirring the pot.

"Of course I have waterproof." He shot back in a snotty tone and Grimmjow yanked the door open.

"Did you get yourself all whored out before you disgraced your entire family, too?" Grimmjow's voice crackled with disgust and

Taichi dropped the spoon and spun around, nostrils flaring at his father and lip curling right back at him. He'd tried too hard to keep quiet, and he'd done as best he could, but he was done now.

"Oh yes, _dad_, I even dressed like a woman too. Short school girl skirts, stuffed bra, the works. I even tucked my dick back so no one could tell!"

Grimmjow slammed the door as fire burned in his gut, and turned to Taichi.

"Disgusting, worthless piece of shit."

"A million times better than being a fifty year old yakuza puppet."

"So you became a yakuza _whore_?"

"I did it to make myself feel better!"

"Oh yeah? How'd that work out for you?!"

A tight, evil looking grin pulled Taichi's lips, but there was a darkness in his eyes that Grimmjow had been trying to ignore for too long. He lifted a hand and placed it over his chest, running it downward to the waist of his jeans.

"Oh it worked out great, _dad_. I made so much money, I was the best they had. Yammy didn't want to let me go. He fought to keep me, offered me more money, more men, rich men that would have kept me as a pet, fed me and fucked me well, given me presents: cars, trips around the world, jewelry. Anything I wanted." His eyes narrowed and his heart pounded harder in his chest. "Aizen loved me." It was like slipping a knife between Grimmjow's ribs, those words. "Loved it when I laid back and spread my legs for him an—"

There was a loud crack the filled the kitchen as Grimmjow's open hand connected with Taichi's cheek before he grabbed a handful of the young man's shirt and yanked him closer. Grimmjow's lips pulled back from his teeth and he growled at his son, his voice the most angry and deadly that Taichi had ever heard.

"Shut your goddamned mouth you little shit or I'll kill you myself."

Taichi trembled in Grimmjow's grasp, but he was done trying to hold anything inside him. "He called me his little blue kitty."

Revulsion made Grimmjow push Taichi from him, and he stumbled back just as Sorin entered the room, hitting his head on the stove and tipping the heavy pot with partially mashed potatoes over. It fell, the handle clipping Taichi's cheek and the pot itself falling directly on his right hand. Grimmjow didn't seem to notice his other son because he went for Taichi on the floor, rage in his eyes even as Taichi rolled and tried to get away. Sorin saw this as if he weren't standing inside his own body but floating beside it, without the ability to react in any way. But it was seconds later that he was rushing forward, grabbing two handfuls of Grimmjow's shirt, not realizing that he'd yelled, alerting everyone in the backyard. They all rushed in just in time to see a furious Sorin swing his fist at his father that connected harshly with Grimmjow's stubborn chin.

Grimmjow's head snapped back and he fell against the counter as everyone, including Sorin himself, stared with wide eyes full of shock. Sorin's mouth fell open as he realized what he'd done, and he suddenly felt the stinging pain in his hand. He'd just punched his father.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?!" Ichigo roared and Yayoi rushed forward to help Taichi up off the floor.

Many pairs of eyes flicked between the boys and the man glaring at both of them, but no one spoke as the tension crackled and snapped around them. Finally, Grimmjow pushed away from the counter and left the kitchen. Moments later the front door slammed closed hard enough to shake the glass on the sliding glass doors in that opened the house to the backyard.

Sorin's heart was twisting in his chest with shame, and he felt heat prick behind his eyes as he blinked quickly at the spot that Grimmjow had fallen against.

"That's it." Shinji's voice finally broke the silence. "Taichi, go pack a bag, you're coming to stay with us for a while."

"Shinji…." Ichigo started but one look at Shinji's face and he knew it'd only make this situation worse if he fought him on this. Maybe it was best if Taichi were somewhere else when Grimmjow came home. Ichigo knew it wasn't going to be a pretty scene when he finally got ahold of his lover. This was bullshit and he was done with all of it.

"Yo-chan, go help him." Yayoi nodded and helped Taichi towards his room, the entire time fussing over him and his now throbbing hand. He should probably get it looked at.

"Chichi, I…." Sorin's voice broke and he stopped, his head moving jerkily so he could look at Ichigo, tears threatening to fall but staying in place for now.

Ichigo's heart twisted. "Go to your room, Sorin." He spoke softly and Sorin nodded his head, looking to the floor and turning to leave. None of them missed the tears that broke free before his face was hidden.

"Sorry… I think dinner's canceled tonight." Ichigo spoke and Nnoitra, uncomfortable but surprisingly quite, grunted and simply left the kitchen to go wait in the car.

* * *

Tomoe, who'd been shut up in her room finishing up some studying for an assignment that was due on Monday, left her room in time to catch Sorin walking down the hall like a dead man. She frowned at him and asked him what his problem was, but he passed her; not even seeing her standing there before he disappeared into his room. The door shut quietly behind him and Tomoe's frown deepened. By the time she made it to the kitchen, Ichigo was alone, and she could see her uncle Shinji in the back yard grabbing up the empty beer bottles and cups from other drinks.

"What's wrong with Sorin?" She asked Ichigo, wondering what it was he was doing on his hands and knees near the stove. She'd had her ear buds in, music up loud, and hadn't heard a thing of the fight just steps away from her.

Ichigo only sighed and stood, taking the dirty rag in his hands to the sink to rinse out. "Nothing. We're not doing dinner tonight with everyone though, so go ahead and grab what you want and go back to your room."

Something was wrong, Tomoe could almost taste it in the air, but she only pressed her lips together and set about grabbing herself a plate of food. She was hungry and she didn't want to deal with the drama that had apparently happened. She didn't want to even know anymore. Before she left the kitchen, though, she gave Ichigo a kiss on the cheek and told him she loved him.

Ichigo remained in the kitchen after she left, his head hanging, his eyes closed, and his thoughts in disarray. What the hell had gone wrong here?

* * *

Taichi set his bag on the guest bed at Shinji and Nnoitra's house, and looked around the small, cluttered room. It was also Shinji's home office, and there wasn't much room for Taichi to do anything other than sleep. It smelled like sandalwood and something else he couldn't place, but it didn't smell like his room. He swallowed and sat, sighing deeply and letting it out loudly. Shinji had insisted they stop by the emergency room to get Taichi's hand looked at, and it was thankfully only bruised. He'd be sore for a while, but he was to wear an Ace bandage around it for a bit for the next few days, ice it for swelling and take simple over-the-counter pain medicine as needed for pain.

He was hungry, but the thought of food made his stomach roll. He knew nothing would stay down, so he didn't even bother. The strangest thing about all of this was that Taichi couldn't figure out if he was upset with Grimmjow's violent, visceral reaction to what he'd said, or the fact he'd said all of it just to piss Grimmjow off. Taichi had never met Aizen, but he'd heard plenty about him. He knew that Grimmjow worked for him, or once had. He knew they had a past. Taichi also knew the old nickname that Grimmjow had had when he was a child, and in his anger he'd connected to two, knowing that Grimmjow hated the man. He'd said it to hurt him, to make it sting just as bad as every word Grimmjow had said to him did. From the turnout, Taichi had hit his mark and then some.

And now it was broken completely; severed and unfixable. He'd lost his father tonight and he knew it, but he felt numb to it. It didn't matter anymore. Maybe uncle Shinji would let him stay until he was out of school. Maybe he'd get a scholarship and move to go to university. Maybe he'd never have to look at Grimmjow again.

Taichi's jaw tightened and he laid out on the bed, rolling to his side to face the wall and bringing his knees up to his chest. He shivered and closed his eyes, but dreams refused to take him that night. Instead, Taichi lay awake, reliving every detail of every interaction with Grimmjow since that day when he was fourteen. When everything had begun to unravel.

* * *

A/N *drops this off... backs out of the 'nets.*

3

~Miss P.


	11. Intermission

Howdy Duckies~

We're going to do a little interlude here while I decide how I want to progress with this story, but I don't want to leave you all hanging so I'm going to do something similar to something we all did a million years ago with the SBB Q&A Show. I want your questions, comments, and tips for the characters of Sins of the Fathers and each character will answer and respond to all of them. I'm sure more than a few of you have some burning questions, or some scathing comments to impart by now ;p So fire away! I'll be waiting a few days to get a good number in to answer, and I'll be posting responses by next week if all goes well.

Once again, thank you all for being patient with me on updates, the boys and girls are getting restless with me as well, so this is partly for them as well ;p Also, I will respond to your reviews as soon as I can. They are all so important to me and I apologize for taking so long to get back to everyone.

Also, for those of you NOT following the fanclub over at deviantART, there's a nice little treat for Twin Flames fans, an old Grimm/Ichi smutty scene I wrote a while back that I'm sure you will all love. And even for those who never got a chance to read that story, it's smut. Enjoy :D

Can't wait to see what you guys throw at us!

Ta~

Miss P.


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